


Realities Collide

by selfless1978



Series: Realities [1]
Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-04
Updated: 2016-03-04
Packaged: 2018-03-21 05:12:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 43,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3679011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/selfless1978/pseuds/selfless1978
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In one night my life had changed forever. This is my unbelievable tale. Please review! My twist on the 2014 Turtles.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Hello, my name is Vicky. Yes that is my real name, if you read my stories then you noticed that my OC is named after me. Really not a coincidence there, I really love my Turtles, and since I can't make them real I figured that my kids and I could meet them in another way. Yes, the kids in my stories are based after mine and their names have been changed. Hey, I'm a Turtle fan...not an idiot. A little weird maybe, but not an idiot. Did I mention I got my kiddo's hooked on my favorite lean, mean, green fighting machines? Yup, I sure did. Drives their Grandma nuts too. (evil grin)

I grew up on the '80s version and I did love all three original Turtle movies (yes even the time travel one...so shoot me) and my mom thought it was one of the more stupider things she has seen. I used to drive her crazy, bouncing around the house singing the theme song. I still know that original song by heart and sing it every once in awhile to run her off if she won't go home. Works every time.

I also loved the '03 series, but I didn't get to watch it when it first came out. I was too busy for cartoons, even my beloved Turtles, at that point in my life. I never did really forget my passion for them, that is the only thing I still held onto from my childhood and I refuse to let it go. So I watched the '03 series a few years later when my life slowed down a bit. I had gotten married and my son (Dennis in the stories) had already blessed me with his presence and my daughter (Amy) was on her way when the TMNT movie came out in '07. I was thrilled, I finally had a new turtle adventure to watch, and I loved it. Still hadn't managed to watch the '03 series yet though. My 2 kiddos kept me on my toes to much. Finally I had gotten around to watching them though and I was very much impressed with it. It had a more darker tone to it but the message of family came through to me very strong, since I also consider mine to be my biggest strength. I could really connect with a lot of the things they went through in that series, especially Leo. I, too, felt like a failure to my family...but for different reasons. By the time I finally got around to watching the series my husband and I had split and the kids took it very hard. I felt like a failure of a mom because I couldn't keep my family together. I sank into a depression and I turned to something that had always made me happy as a child, my Turtles.

I spent hours watching the episodes after my kids were in bed for the night, in order. Something about season 4 and Leo's struggles brought to mind my own predicament. Finally the episode where Leo searched for the Ancient One really hit home, "I did the best I could." "Then why do you blame yourself." Now I'm not saying that the series cured my depression but it made me think enough about it to seek help. One more reason to love my Turtles...as if I needed one. Around this time is when my favorite turtle went from Mikey to Leo. I loved Mikey as a kid but as an adult I could relate more to Leo.

Next came the '12 series and this time my kids were old enough now to enjoy it with me. We spent many afternoons watching it. I loved the new fun loving goofball teenage aspect of it. It was kind of a mix between the '80 and '03 series, the goofiness of the '80s but some serious '03 tones to it as well and my kids loved it. We laughed together and I watched as a love for the silly green goofs grew in my children. Needles to say I now know all the theme songs by heart, though the '12 one gets me tongue tied if I don't pay attention. I really love the whole Donnie/April crush thing, but I still kinda feel bad for the smart guy.

Then finally came the new movie and I was so excited. I was literally like a little kid again and my kids were joining me in that excitement. This was something my kids and I could actually enjoy together. Usually I have to sit through stuff I really don't want to watch but not this time, for once they wanted to go see something I wanted to go see as well. Like a typical good turtle fan I was trying to keep my expectations low so I wouldn't be heartbroken if it didn't turn out good. I had read every review I could get my hands on and most of them said, in short, "It's crap and the Turtles look ugly." But I never listen to anyone's opinion, I like to form my own, so I took the kids anyway. We had a blast. I loved it, my kids loved it and we went to go see it again a few days later. I actually like the new look of them, it took a bit of getting used to but I really did like it. I thought Leo turned out really well.

Needles to say Turtlemania erupted in my small little mobile home I live in out in the country. (Yes I live in a house with wheels, get over it.) This was the time I started writing fanfiction for TMNT, listening to the movie score for inspiration. And when I wasn't doing that I was playing Turtle clips on the computer for my kids, movies, songs, episodes you name it I played it. Didn't see much of my mom during that phase, heh heh. She still don't really care too much for them even after all these years. My love for them however only grew and the internet made it possible for me to keep enjoying them.

And that's what I was doing late one night when a really bad thunderstorm rolled in. Where I live we get some nasty ones, only stands to reason since I live in tornado alley. So I was up waiting to see if I needed to duck and cover with the kids or not. While I was waiting for the light show to begin I played my favorite clip to the new movie that someone had so nicely put online for me, and everyone else, to watch. I know this may sound strange but I really loved the "Let's play buck buck" scene. Something about them using a childhood game to smack the crap out of Shredder gave me goosebumps. Maybe it's the whole family aspect of it, I really don't know, but I love that scene. I figured that after watching it I would work some more on my fanfic stories, one of them I was dealing with I had severe writer's block. I'm not a good writer in the first place and I just couldn't get the chapter to flow the way I wanted. I never got that far though because right in the middle of watching the clip the storm had arrived and, go figure my luck, a lightning bolt hit near my house and the power went out. So there I was sitting in the dark, mad as Raph after one of Mikey's pranks.

I heard a crack, pop sizzle sound coming from my computer and I was actually kind of worried that the bolt had maybe fried it until I remembered I had it plugged into a surge protector, to be on the safe side I bent under the desk and unplugged it anyway and promptly smacked my head on the desk on the way back up. That wasn't one of my better moments. I was now sitting pissed off in the dark, I was so intent on watching the clip that my stupid ass didn't even think to get a flashlight ready. I knew how bad these storms could get, you would think I would have learned by now...noooooo.

Sighing, I stood up to go wander to the hallway closet to grab one. I had been living here a while and I could find my way around my small home with ease in the dark, that is if the kids had all their toys picked up. Lucky for me I had made them clean up their mess earlier or I would be tripping all over toys. I began to make my way to the closet and I didn't get very far when I ran into something. For a moment I thought maybe I had miscalculated and smashed face first into a wall but that couldn't have been right, my path to the closet was wall free at that spot in the house. I was trying to figure it out when I felt it move away from me. Now I was really confused, even a little scared, until the lights came on a second later. There standing in front of me, looking at me in as much shock as I was looking at them, were four large figures. Not just any figures but the big green guys themselves. Somehow I was standing there looking at the movie version of Leo, Raph, Donnie and Mikey. Needless to say I was more than a little shellshocked. Well now wasn't this great...

They were looking at me as dumbstruck as I was looking at them. I bet that would have made a great picture, all of us standing there with our mouths hanging open. I for one didn't know to be scared that I was going nuts or excited because they were actually there. If I had been a robot the phrase "does not compute" would have made perfect sense at that moment. Reacting the only way my blown mind could work, I reached out and poked Leo. Yup, he was real, swords and all. I let my gaze wander to the other three, debating if I should poke them too. Raph's scowl on his face quickly let that thought flee my mind. Nope, wasn't going to poke him, I valued my finger to much.

Finally getting my befuddled brain under control. I finally got the guts to speak. "Hi...um...welcome to my home." Why was I so nervous? These were my favorite fictional figures after all, they wouldn't hurt me. Maybe it was the shock.

Leo looked at me, damn his eyes were even prettier in real life, with a calm amazement. "I would say thank you but we had no intention of coming here in the first place." From behind him Mikey gave me a small wave. Raph just glared at me and Donnie was looking around. Leo took a deep breath and asked me "Did you bring us here?"

Who the heck did he think I was? Some kind of alien genius? Heck I barely mastered math in school, not to mention chemistry and physics. I had to laugh at the absurdity of it. That didn't help Raph's temper i figured out as I heard a low growl coming from him. Better do something about that right now. "No, I didn't bring you here. I wouldn't even know how to bring you here. And Raph don't you dare throw a fit. If you wake my kids up I'll throw one that makes yours look like a toddler temper tantrum." I returned his glare.

He blinked at me in surprise, I guess no one talked to him like that before. "How did you know my name?" I think I stunned the anger out of him because he was actually nice now. Or stupefied, wasn't really sure at that point.

"I know all of you." I pointed out to the others as I called their names out. "Leo. Donnie. Mikey and you're Raph." Now I had them all looking at me like I was a space alien or something.

"Dudes, she can read minds..." Go figure Mikey would say something like that.

"I'm afraid you have us at a disadvantage, miss." Leo calmly told me. Those eyes of his...they gave me goosebumps and a shiver ran down my spine. I still couldn't believe he was really here.

"My name is Vicky. I think I should show you how I know you. Not sure if you will believe me otherwise." I turned back to my computer, really hoping that it wasn't fried. In shock I just now realized that the storm had moved on, I was so caught up with what just happened I didn't even notice. Good thing no twister made it's way toward me that night. I reached under my desk and plugged my PC back in, once again smacking my head on the desk, and fired it up. Grumbling as I rubbed my head I sat in my desk chair and waited for it to load as they gathered around me. I felt so small with them towering over me like that.

Finally the stupid thing was ready, have I mentioned I really hate computers?, and I pulled up my collection of Turtle stuff. I loaded the video I was watching when the lightning bolt hit. Stunned they stared at the screen.

"What the hell? That's our fight with the Shredder from years ago!" Raph exploded. Wait, what? Years ago? This movie just friggin came out? Did I miss something?

"How did you get this?" Leo asked me. Well now this was going to be fun to explain. How do you tell four living beings that they are the figment of someone's imagination turned into a movie? Oh boy...

"Well guys, this is actually a movie. It just came out in theaters. Someone filmed it in the theater and posted it onto the internet. You're actually pretty famous." This stunned them all into silence. I could feel them looking at each other and the air was filled with 'what the fuck?' vibes.

"How famous?" Once again leave it to Mikey to ask something like that.

"Let me show you." I then pulled up every incarnation of them. I started with the '80s version and worked my way up until the movie version.

"You have got to be kidding me..." Raph whispered. "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Seriously? Did we travel back in time or something?"

Donnie chuckled a little bit. "What's the matter, Raph? Your teenage years embarrass you?"

Ok now I was really getting confused. "If you're not teenagers then how old are you?" I just had to ask. I just hope they wouldn't smack me or something.

"Actually we are close to forty." Leo told me.

"Forty!" Talk about looking like an idiot. "But you look exactly like in the movie!"

"Turtles by nature age slowly." Donnie informed me. Well that really blew my expectations out of the water. Jeez they were older than me and adding insult to injury they looked better than me for their age. Talk about a let down... I guess I should call them Adult Mutant Ninja Turtles...boy that just sounded stupid...

"This is all very interesting but it doesn't explain how we got here." Leo looked at me. "And I'd like to know how we came to be in your living room."

"I don't know." Hell I was as dumbfounded as him. "I was just watching that video when lightning hit and the power went out. I heard the computer make some weird noises so I unplugged it. Then I went to go find a flashlight and bumped into one of you. Then the lights came on." I wish I could have told them more but I didn't know what happened either.

Leo turned his attention to Donnie. "Don't look at me. I don't know either."

Well that's a first. This even had Donnie stumped. I actually kind of felt bad for them. That's probably why I made them the offer, that and I was actually thrilled to have them here. "You guys can stay here. It's not much but you're welcome to whatever I have."

Leo turned that blue eyed gaze to me, talking about butterflies in the stomach. Here I am a thirty five year old woman getting all fluttery over him looking at me. How old was I again? Fifteen? Ugh. "We don't want to be a bother or a burden."

"If I thought that were to be the case I wouldn't have made the offer. You need a place to stay until you can figure things out. I'm not going to just kick you out with nowhere to go." That and I felt responsible for what happened. Least I could do is make it up to them by letting them stay here.

Leo looked kept looking at me, man if he didn't quit I was going to melt into a puddle of silly goo, and then nodded his head. "All right. Then we accept. And thank you."

"Well that takes care of that issue. I'll go get some blankets and stuff and get you guys settled in. But I warn you, in the morning I have to get my kids up for school. They are going to be really excited to see you."

Leo smiled, seriously...dreamy. Oh come on, get a hold of yourself, Vicky. "I think we can handle them."

Now I have to figure out how to explain this to my family, my mom's major annoyance standing in my living room. I couldn't help but chuckle.


	2. Chapter 2

Needless to say the next morning was interesting. It started off like it usually does, me hitting the snooze button about six times before I drag myself out of bed. I am so not a morning person and to this day I don't know how I managed three years in the army, having to be up early all the time. Shocked you again, didn't I? Yes I was in the army but it's not part of my story. I might go more into detail about that later. Anyway I did my usual half asleep shuffle to the kitchen only to be shocked into wakefulness as I remembered that I had house guests when I got to the living room. Thankfully they were already up so I didn't have to be quiet, because it was about to get very noisy. I mumbled a half asleep "Mornin" and got four replies. Was Raph laughing at me? Sure I looked like shit but come on...I just got up for crying out loud. Leo seemed to be too, there go those butterflies again... that half smile he does always did get me.

The good thing was I didn't have to make breakfast this morning. Mikey had already found his way into my kitchen. Wasn't to sure I wanted that though. Sure in all the fanfic stories I read he's a great cook but the tv shows tell me otherwise. I've seen him turn fried eggs into scrambled and some of his pizza topping ideas...(shudders) I cautiously went over to see if I could help. By that I mean make sure he didn't accidentally poison my kids. I loved the guy but my faith in his cooking skills was next to none. As I stood next to him I must say I was pleasantly surprised, apparently the Turtle fandom knew Mikey better than the tv show producers did. He had made an amazing breakfast. Not really a breakfast eater myself I was surprised to find my mouth watering.

So now it was time to get my little rascals up, and this is where it gets noisy. I figured I better warn them, I really didn't want Raph to get startled and break something. Man he was huge... but I felt it fit him. "Guys, I do something to get them up every morning. It's going to get noisy in here for a little bit." Then I plopped my butt in my desk chair. Searching through my playlist I found the song I was looking for, turned the volume up and hit play. The living room exploded with the sound of the song written for the movie. Yes I know alarm clocks in their room would probably be easier on the ears but hey, this was a Turtle fandom household after all. I walked down the hallway with "Knock knock, you about to get shell shocked." blaring into my ears.

Amy, as usual, shot out of bed like a rocked and hauled her little behind to the bathroom, dancing and singing as she did her morning clean up. Dennis on the other hand takes after me, I had to literally drag him out of bed. Grumbling "I'm still tired!" he stomped his way to the bathroom as Amy was finishing up. Yup everything running as usual.

I laid out clothes for them to wear then went up front to see if Mikey needed help, making a detour to the computer to turn down the racket. It had done it's job, the kids were up. I couldn't help but notice them looking at me with amusement. "Sorry about that. They really love you guys and here in a little bit you're going to find out just how much." I told them quietly.

I was setting the table for the kids when they finally made their appearance to the front of the house. Arguing about something, another usual occurrence in my home, they froze when they entered the living room. I could feel the guys getting a little nervous and I figured I'd better help them past this awkward moment. "Guys, meet Dennis and Amy."

"Mommy! The Ninja Turtles are here?" Amy's 'here' came out in a long high pitched squeal. Then she promptly went to go pester Donnie who wasn't quite sure what to expect. She says she don't have a favorite turtle but Donnie wears purple...one of her favorite colors. And she wasted no time telling him that, then she bombarded him with questions. Dennis was a bit slower, he's is the opposite in his sister in every way, as he slowly made his way to the largest turtle. Raph looked down at him then looked at me and I gave him a reassuring smile. A little bashful my son stood in front of Raph, looking at him quietly for a moment then said "I like red. It's my favorite color."

Raph looked back down at him and smiled. "Mine too." 

Well so far so good, the initial shock seemed to be wearing off. After the kids had made their rounds telling each of them hi Mikey was finishing up breakfast and I called the kids to come eat. My little hungry monsters stormed my kitchen and seated themselves, they even remembered to tell Mikey thank you for cooking. Then I sat down at the table with them as they happily dug into their food and around mouthfulls of "awesome" and "cool", we had the conversation of "Do not tell anyone at school about this." I knew I could trust them, they may be young but they weren't stupid. They knew they had to be kept secret, everything they had ever watched about the turtles stressed that.

"You want something to eat?" Mikey asked me.

"Not right now thanks. I always let them eat first before I do, just to make sure they had enough." I could feel someone's blue eyes boring into the back of my head as I said that. Leo was watching me.

"I made more than enough." Mikey told me.

"I know bud, but old habits die hard. I'll eat later, I promise." After mumbling something along the lines of "You better." he turned back to the stove. I couldn't help a small chuckle, he was such a nut. 

Finally my kids were done eating, evident by the enormous mess on my table, and we slowly made our way out the door to catch the bus. After the bus came to pick them up I stood there and waved at my daughter as it drove away, as I do every morning. I was about to turn to go back inside when one of those sneaky ninjas put his skills to use.

"They are wonderful kids." Leo spoke up from just slightly behind me. The shithead scared me so much I actually jumped a little and screamed. God...I never scream. I'm the big tough mommy, I wasn't supposed to get scared.

I turned around to glare at him and he gave me that half smile again. "Sorry, old habits die hard." Now the bastard was stealing my lines. 

"It's ok. Just wasn't expecting you to be out here. Though I guess there really isn't any reason for you to hide out here. The only ones who can see you are the neighboring cows and my dad's goats, and the rest of my family."

Leo looked around. "It's beautiful out here." He looked at another house not far away, with a bit of worry.

"It's all right Leo. That is where my folks and brother live. No one else lives out here, you guys can move around at will. I'll show you the property boarders later and tell you where to stay away from. We have plenty of land out here, feel free to explore."

Leo looked back at me, again with that half smile. Was he trying to make me melt into butter? "But first you better come in and eat. You said you would eat later, well it's later."

"Alright, alright..." We walked into the kitchen and I cleaned up the disaster area the kids left on my table and Mikey promptly placed a plate down for me once it was clean. It did smell good and I was surprisingly hungry. I started to eat so my orange masked mother hen would quit standing over me with a cooking spoon. Then he fixed his brothers some plates. It was a bit cramped in my small kitchen but somehow we made due and got through breakfast. I hadn't had so much fun in a long time. There were jokes, stories and just generally good conversation. I don't make friends easy but in a way I had know them all my life so to me they were already more than friends.

We were cleaning up, still shooting shit, when my cellphone rang. I looked for it for a few moments, I'm awful at keeping track of the stupid thing it always seems to move around on it's own. When I finally found it and looked at the caller ID my good mood quickly disappeared, it was my ex-husband. I held my fingers over my lips to the guys as I answered. "What?" Can you tell we don't really get along anymore? The following convrsation will reveal why.

"I'm not going to be able to come see the kids this weekend."

"Again? What have I told you about promising them something and not going through with it! You told them you would come."

"Something came up and I can't make it."

"Let me guess you blew all your money again and don't have any left over." This had been one of the factors in our divorce and he still couldn't keep his funds straight.

"I had stuff I needed to pay for!"

"It's called a budget. Make one and stick to it. But I've been telling you that for nine years. I really don't give a rat's ass what you do with your money honestly, unless it affects the kids and I'm getting tired of you telling them you are going to come then back out because you blew all your funds. You're not the one who has to pick up the goddamn pieces!" Yup just a typical conversation between us.

"I'm sorry! I'll just come pick them up next month."

"You said that last month. Sorry doesn't mean shit when you keep doing the same damn thing over and over again. You haven't seen them in months. Frankly I'm getting sick of it."

"Whatever. I gotta go." Then he hung up. Once again my phone went flying across the room, it always seems to do that after one of these conversations, might be the reason I can't find it half the time. This time it stopped it's flight as a green hand shot out and caught it before it smashed into something. Shit, I was so pissed I forgot they were there. "And here I thought Raph had a temper." Leo told me as he placed my phone down on the desk, safely away from me since I was still in the kitchen.

Embarrassed I looked around. "Sorry guys, I forgot you were there. You weren't supposed to see that."

Leo looked at me thoughtfully a moment. "Let's go take that tour. I think the walk would do you good."

Before I could answer I heard someone coming up the front stairs. "Oh no..." I really wasn't ready for this yet.

"What?" Leo asked alarmed.

"My mom." And she just barged in like she normally does. I love my folks dearly but sometimes it's like 'Everybody loves Raymond'. When you want to be left alone they barge in. This time I think she was wishing she would have knocked. She stood there staring at my unexpected house guests.

"Morning, Mom. Meet the Turtles." Maybe not the gentlest way to break the news.... "Yes they are real and no I don't know how they got here."

"Oh my god." She said. Her eyes were a little wide as she took my guests in.

"You need me to call you an ambulance? Or you going to be alright."

It took her a moment but she got control of herself. "No, I'll be fine." She was quick on her toes, I'll give her that much. "Hi, I'm Carol. But you can just call me Granny." Yup I did a facepalm. She wants four large trained ninjas turtles to call her Granny. Oh this day was going great, what next, my pants falling down?

"Hi, I'm Mikey!"

"Leo."

"Donnie."

"Raph." They each shook hands with her. Now this I thought I'd never see, my mom shaking hands with the beings that annoyed her so much throughout my childhood. I had to sit down, so I plopped down into a dining chair in the kitchen.

"You ok?" Mom asked me.

"I'm fine. Just been a rough night."

"I can tell. So how did the kids take it?"

"Do I really have to tell you? I'm surprised you didn't hear Amy at your house."

Donnie smiled. "She is a sweet little girl."

I laughed. "Until you piss her off. She makes Raph look like a baby."

"Hey! I'm not that bad." He protested

"Yes you are." Said the other three. I laughed again, we all did. I was actually kind of glad this was going so well. I wasn't quite sure how to explain this to my mom. Dad and Jim, my brother, were easy going. She was the main hurdle. If I could keep her from flipping out we were good. We spent about an hour talking, her asking questions and us answering the best we could. All in all it was kind of pleasant, for once. She can get annoying at times but this wasn't one of them. Finally she said her goodbyes and turned to go back to her house. "Mom, It's really important that we keep this to ourselves." I told her as she was about to leave.

"I know. I may be old but I'm not stupid." I laughed as she walked out of the house.

"Well that went better than I expected." I told them. "Well come on. I'll walk you around the place. I know you guys don't want to be cooped up in here all the time."

Together we walked around the property line so they knew where to stay. It was a large area and it took us quite awhile. Fifteen hundred acres is a bit to cover on foot not to mention I pointed things out like "Don't go over there." "That forest is ok to go in to." "This is dad's goat pen, leave his goats alone or he'll smack you." type stuff. I knew they were naturally city dwellers and I wasn't sure how they would take to a country lifestyle but I was hoping they could make the best of it until we could find a way to get them home. That thought actually saddened me, I really didn't want them to go but I knew that eventually they would have to. I was determined to show them the best time I could until then.

"You know. It's really nice out here guys." Mikey said as he watched my dad's goats. Dad had their pen set up in between our houses and that's where we finished the tour. He had about ten or so at the moment and they were playing around in their pen. Mikey smiled as he watched their antics.

"Yeah it is." Now that shocked me, this came from the one who spends most of his day building tech stuff. I thought Donnie would be going through withdrawals by now, but he seemed happy.

"What do you have going on over there?" Leo asked me, pointing towards a large area my dad had cleared out. He had walked by my side through the whole walk around and was still standing next to me. I was still getting that jibbery fluttery feeling from being so close to him.

"My dad wants to build a barn here. As you might have noticed we don't have one yet. This land was all untouched when we got it about ten years ago. He keeps trying but he can never seem to get one built. Something always seems to come up, that and he want's to do it himself. You know, do it all by hand. He says it will mean more to him if he does it. I just think he hates the thought of someone else building something for his family."

"I can understand that." Leo said quietly. I looked up at him and I could have sworn I saw sadness on his face. That got me to thinking about something I had almost forgotten about. Where was Master splinter? Suddenly I started to put it together. They hadn't mentioned him and their older age, compared to the tv shows, I had a bad feeling Splinter had maybe passed on. I figured I'd keep my mouth shut about it. If they wanted to tell me they would. And that thought led me down another thinking path, sometimes I think to much.

"You guys need some stuff to train with. Come with me." I led them to another area where Dad kept his 'junk'. He had a lot of stuff thrown in that pile and he was starting to pull out his hair wondering what he was going to do with it all. I knew he wouldn't mind. "Here. Look through this and take whatever you may need to fix up a training area for you guys. When Dad gets home from work I'll bully him to open his magic toolbox and get you all set up."

With whoops of happiness Donnie and Mikey started to browse through the large pile. I smiled at their antics before I turned to Raph. "I think I know where I can get my hands on some weights for you. Let me make a few calls later."

"That would be great." He smiled. Then he went to help his brothers.

I found myself standing alone with Leo watching as his brothers were picking apart the large pile. "You really don't have to go through all this trouble." He told me softly.

"Leo, it's not a problem. Really it isn't. I'm glad I can do something for you." I turned to look at him and he caught my eyes with his. "I know this is hard for you to understand, but you guys have been a part of my life since I was not much older than Dennis. I want to help you. I love you guys."

Oh boy...that intense blue gaze was really working a number on me. I was starting to wonder if my knees would hold up. Now that would be just dandy, falling over just because his eyes bore into mine. And there was that smile again... "I wish we knew you as well as you know us."

"Well we have time until we figure out a way to get you back home. You will get to know me better." I looked back at the others, laughing as I watched Mikey and Raph. Apparently the younger was pestering the older again because Raph tackled his brother to the ground. Leo just sighed and shook his head.

"And why such a great sigh?" I asked him.

"You would think they would out grow that."

I laughed. "Aw come on, Leo. You have no idea how many times watching these types of scenes had made my day better. They wouldn't be them if they didn't act out."

"Try living with them." He told me, I smiled at the sarcasm in his voice.

"Trust me, I do. My little angels remind me a lot of those two. You will see in time." That's all I was going to tell him. I had my own little Raph/Mikey conflicts in my children.

By now Raph had Mikey calling uncle and I smiled again as I looked on. "You know, I'm really glad you guys showed up."

"And why is that?"

"It's like a dream come true for me. I've always wished you were real, I never expected that you were. And I must say I'm not the slightest bit disappointed. I remember when I was little Mikey was my favorite, he always made me laugh when I was feeling down and I was down a lot as a kid. I went through some tough times. You guys I could always count on to bring a smile on my face, if even only for a little while."

"Well then, I'm glad we could have helped you. I just wish we could have known that we were." He grew quiet again as we watched. Donnie had found something of interest and was trying to pull it free. Without warning it came loose all at once and he lost his balance, promptly falling over Mikey who had come up behind him to help. "So, who is your favorite now?"

"I'm standing next to him." Stupid me...I really didn't mean to blurt that out like that. I could feel my cheeks starting to blush as I felt his eyes on me again. Why did I do that? Shit I could have just said 'All of you.' But noooo...big mouth strikes again. For some reason being near him made my brain fall asleep. And he was still watching me! Say something already jeez! I'm dying from embarrassment here...

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to embarrass you. But I am honored." I could feel him move closer and he put his hand on my shoulder, turning me to face him. "One day I would like to know why but not now. I think I've embarrassed you enough." Oh goodness he was so close. I had a whole bunch of body part malfunctions, weak knees, jittery stomach, head felt all woozy. Snap out of it, Vic. You're not a puppy love struck teenager any more. Lord his eyes were so pretty...

I was saved by the arrival of my dad and brother. I took the chance to break away from Leo so I could introduce everyone, but I couldn't quite ignore that twinge of disappointment as I did. What the hell was wrong with me? My dad and brother were tickled pink to meet the guys and we spent the rest of the time outside under the sun setting up a training area for them. Until I noticed that it was time for the bus to start showing up soon. I had to keep the guys away from the driveway until it left again. As I stood out front waiting I wondered what it would be like to be held in Leo's arms. I quickly dropped that line of thinking. I really didn't want to go there, just for the simple reason that they would go home, somehow. All we could be were friends, nothing else would be able to develop.


	3. Chapter 3

The next few days flew by. The guys had grown into a routine but I think they adjusted it so they could see the kids in the morning. They don't start training until after Dennis and Amy are off to school, otherwise I'd never get the kids on the bus. That left me with the free time I needed to work and since I work from home that was a blessing. Once the kids come home we do the usual homework shuffle. I apparently got ditched as the favorite homework helper, Donnie filled that role now and I'm ashamed to admit it he is a lot better at it than I am.

Mikey and I then work on supper. I enjoy his company in the kitchen and I have yet to hear any complaints from my kids on anything he has a hand in making. I wonder if I could clone him before he leaves. Sometimes getting the kids to eat something is like trying to tell Shredder to be nice, it ain't happening. Some how Mikey has that magic touch though, if he makes it they will eat it.

Getting them ready for bed is still the same challenge, maybe even worse now, they don't want to miss a minute of the turtles. Leo and Raph usually bribe them with bedtime stories to get them to bed. I still think that's kind of cute, the two brothers that butt heads the most working together to defeat the 'I don't want to go to bed!' monster. Sure my house was cramped but god it was so good to have them here.

Donnie had still been trying to figure out what had brought them here, but the poor guy still wasn't having any luck. I'm guessing my limited technology doesn't help him much in that aspect. Compared to what he has back home, my place must feel like the stone age to him. I still felt bad about them being stuck here. I know it was just a freak accident but still, I just felt like it was my fault somehow. Why would they end up in my house if it wasn't? I know, I know I'm being too hard on myself, I can't help it. It's the way I am.

By now it was Friday night. We spent the evening outside gathered around a fire pit, sitting in lawn chairs and of course roasting marshmallows, or smashshmellows as my kids call them, and making smores. Mom, Dad and Jim were out there with us enjoying the late summer evening. As the sky grew darker the fireflies started to come out and of course the kids had to go catch some. It was a wonderful night, cool, no breeze and not a cloud in the sky. The moon was full, and it's light filled the air with it's luminous glow. Now if the stupid goats would shut up and go to sleep...I suppose the kid's laughter didn't help the mood either. They had dragged Mikey into catching fireflies with them, and Jim. The rest of us were just gathered around the fire pit talking.

After a while I heard the tell tale arguing of tired children. "Time to go in and get cleaned up guys!" I called to them and got the usual "I don't wanna!". The evil eye got them running towards the house though, to the chuckle of all gathered. After bath time I got them snuggled in bed and the story readers came in to take over. Tonight it was Donnie and Mikey, by request. Finally they were settled down and sleeping and I went back outside to enjoy the night. It was just too pretty not to.

By now my family had already went home, Raph and Mikey were watching tv and Donnie was doing something with my computer. I had no idea where Leo was. Probably floating around somewhere practicing his ninja skills on those pesky coyotes that were a pain in my dad's goat loving ass. By now the fire was out, either it had burned down or someone put it out. I didn't mind, I could still look at the moon. I walked away from the house to a little hill about 200 feet away. It's the perfect spot to stargaze I think and I go there often on pretty nights like this, just to watch the stars, or moon in this case. I love nature so I really don't mind being out and alone like that. Hey, I told you before, I'm weird. Standing there, I watched the night sky, enjoying the peaceful night.

"Why are you out here all alone?" I jumped, sneaky ass ninjas! I could never get used to that. Leo came up beside me. "Sorry." Yeah right, suuure he was. That's why he had this big shit eating grin on his face.

"No, you're not." I gave him my 'I'm mad at you but not really mad at you' look. Don't ask me, I don't know what it looks like either. That's how I felt though. "I just like being outside on nights like this."

"It is a wonderful night." He looked up at the moon. "I don't think I remember the last time I've seen such a nice night like this. So quiet and calm."

"Well you live in a busy city, I expect quiet doesn't happen often." Well duh. Smart observation there again. I mentally kicked myself, why do I always say stupid crap around him?

"No, it doesn't." He sighed. He was then quiet for a few moments. "I really enjoyed tonight. Thank you."

"Your welcome. We try to do this every once in a while. It's not often we get together like that, even though we live so close together."

Again he got quiet as he still watched that glowing ball. "You love them very much, don't you?"

"Yeah, they can be an annoying bunch but I wouldn't trade them for anything. I've learned over the years that they are pretty much the only ones I can really depend on. I just wish I could do more for my kids."

He lowered his gaze from the moon to look at me. "You do great with them and they are very happy children. You do a good job."

"I don't think so." I replied very quietly still looking at that round ball of soft light. I could still feel him looking at me and I got those now familiar jitter bugs inside me. Was it sad that I was getting used to them?

"Why are you so hard on yourself?" He finally asked me. He didn't even try to sugar coat it, right to the point with this one.

I thought a bit on how to answer. Wasn't sure how to put it into words. "I don't know. I just feel like I could have done better. They have been through so much." I felt the tears starting to form, making the picture perfect moon fuzzy. "I feel like I failed them somehow." Great, now I was crying in front of him and he knew it too. My big tough, nothing bothers me attitude crumbling around me. I never let anyone see me like this anymore, the last one I let in like that tore my heart out of my chest and stomped on it.

He moved closer to me and stood in front of me, then I felt his arms around me pulling me close to him. I lost it, something about him made me open up and let all of my pain and frustration out. Feelings I didn't even know I was trying to bury came to the surface. I collapsed against him and cried and he just held me close to him until I got myself under control again.

"You're not a failure, far from it. You are doing a wonderful job. All you can do is the best you can, don't beat yourself up for what you can't give them. They are happy with what they have." I listened to him as I was still wrapped in his arms, already starting to feel better. I guess I've been keeping that bottled up for so long that I didn't even notice it was bothering me but deep down those feelings of not being able to do enough had eaten a hole in me. I didn't notice it until now. How was it that he had seen right through what I had been hiding from myself? Damn, he's better than any psychologist. "Now, why don't you tell me why you feel like a failure?"

"Why on earth would you want to know that?" I still had my head on his chest and his arms were still around me. I did have to admit it felt nice.

"So I can take all your reasons and tear them to little shreds."

"You're going to insist aren't you."

"Yes, I think I am."

I sighed as I pulled away from him. If he only knew the can of worms he was trying to open. I sat on the grass and once again looked up at the moon, it's glow once again filling me with peace. "You might as well sit down, Leo. This story goes back farther than you think it does." He sat down next to me on the grass, close but far enough to give me space to think. I pulled my knees up to my chest, trying to find the words to explain to him a lifetime of issues that lead me to feel failure. The main problem of this whole thing was, could I bring myself to tell him? Could I bring down the walls I had built around myself? After my ex and I split I vowed never to let anyone else know me that intimately again, never let anyone know about my failures in life, mainly because the one I had let in became part of the my problem now. Sure I knew Leo was a good guy, but honestly what did I know except from what I've seen on tv? And how much of that was the real Leo? I wanted to talk, to get this all off of my chest, but I kept running headfirst into the wall I had built myself around me.

He was watching me, I could always feel it when he did, quietly reading me like an open book. I guess he figured I was having problems opening up because he started talking first. "You know to much about us not to know about Master Splinter." I nodded, I just never brought it up. I think he knew that already though. "We lost him years ago." Leo looked up at the moon again himself. "That was the hardest thing we have ever faced and it almost tore us apart. I could feel us slipping further away from each other and nothing I did seemed to help." I looked over at him in shock. There was so much I didn't know about them after all. "My family was growing apart when we needed each other the most. We knew it would happen one day that he would leave us but when it finally happened, he just didn't wake up one morning, none of us were really prepared for it and none of us knew how to deal with it." He looked at me again. "I struggled trying to keep us together but I had failed. Raph went out on his own, Mikey just shut down and Donnie never came out of his lab anymore. I was so overcome with grief, for my father and for the fact I couldn't keep us together, that I made a huge mistake while out one night looking for Raph. I got careless and I got caught. In my mind I had failed once again but with that failure something else had happened. I had been held for about three days in a research lab. I'm not going to go into detail about what kind of lab." I shuddered, he didn't have to. I know what the human species was capable of. "You have no idea how happy I was to see a very angry Raph barge into the room, Donnie and Mikey right behind him. That last mistake I thought I had made brought us back together, made us all realize that even though our father was gone, we still had each other. Sometimes your failures work out for the better, then that means it's not a failure after all. Even if the road that gets you there is hard to understand that, it's a path well taken to learn about yourself."

I thought about that, resting my head on my knees. I understood what he was trying to tell me but my problems were a bit different. Well he wouldn't fully understand if I didn't tell him but I wasn't sure if he would understand. I sighed, well there was only one way to find out. I looked up again at the sky gathering my strength to tell my tale.

It started when I was about Amy's age, 6-7. Around that time I was being molested by someone who was a good family friend, this went on for about a year and I never told anyone. How could I? Even at that age it was hard to talk about. The only reason it came out was because we had moved away to another state and he had went after a childhood friend of mine. She wasn't going to have any of it though and she fought back and was rewarded for her courage with a hammer to the head. My failure to speak up when I should have had cost my friend her life and I spent years dealing with that. Hell, even today I still feel that pang of guilt. He was eventually put into the slammer after a long trial. A trial where I had to testify, even as young and scared as I was. I did it for my friend. I failed her before, I wasn't going to fail her again, I did it for her.

I did what I could to lead a normal life after that. The only really big difference was I stayed away from the boys. I just couldn't bring myself to trust them. I never had a boyfriend by the time I left home at 18, joining the army. Then it got harder to avoid the guys, I had to work with a majority of male soldiers. In a way this was good because it helped me come out of my shell. I had always been the shy, quiet kid growing up and my time in the service changed that. I learned how to communicate and work with others. That didn't mean I had experience though, I was very clueless about a lot of things. Naive, if you will. My new found confidence was shattered when I had entered a relationship, my first one, and was dropped like a hot potato right after our first, and only, time of having sex. I found out later he only wanted to be with me to win a bet. I had a reputation of being hard to get close to and some guys put a bet out to see if one could 'get me in the sack'. My dumbass fell for it. I had failed to see him for what he really was and I spent months glueing my heart back together.

When I had finally picked up the pieces of that episode, another man entered my life. This time it seemed to work out better and we dated for almost a year. I fell for him hard and I was so happy, right until the day I found out he was married and had been sleeping around with other girls. Once again I went looking for the super glue, once again I had failed to see what was really going on. At this point now I just cut back completely from men, I didn't want to go through this anymore.

I finished my time in the service and took on a civilian job. It was here that I met David and this time it seemed I hit the jackpot. He was everything I had ever wanted. Loving, kind, stable, he made me fell alive. The relationship progressed, I met his family he met mine, got engaged and finally married. I was on top of the world, or so I thought. When I found out I was expecting Dennis that was when I was on top of the world. Everything was going so well, we were happy. Dennis came into our would like a comet that needed lots of bottles and diapers but we didn't mind the chaos. Amy was on the way shortly after Dennis turned six months old and the thrill of a new baby filled the family once more.

Things were going great, until I got laid off. This cut our income in half but we managed. We couldn't do a lot of the stuff we used to do, or buy stuff that we took for granted before, but we had food on the table and a roof over our head and each other. I kept looking for a job, not really easy to do in this small town, and finally found one. It didn't pay as much but we were still ok. By the time Amy turned 2 things however began to change. David would disappear for hours on end and come home with a lot of crap we didn't need, mainly stuff for himself. I can understand wanting to splurge on yourself every once in a while but it started to get to the point where the money was gone almost as soon as it came in and I had no idea where it went. Not from lack of trying to figure it out either. I would spend hours going over our monthly budget only to discover that half the time I went grocery shopping the money wasn't there that was alotted for it. We began to argue a lot more, my main concern was getting the bills paid and food on the table, his had shifted somehow to his wants before the family.

I tried so hard to get him to come back around. By this point our utilities kept getting shut off and I had to do payday loans to get them turned back on, another burden, if you have ever done one you can understand. To make matters even worse I got laid off again so that put another dent in our income but still he went out and splurged on movies, video games, guns, car upgrades you name it he bought it. I can't tell you how many times I just took the stuff back just so we could have money for food and every time I did resulted into a huge argument. I know it was hard, hell there were so many things I wanted to buy for myself but I couldn't. I just sucked it up and took care of my children as best I could as I watched their father distance himself more and more from us. I begged him, pleaded with him, tried to explain to him over and over again that this wasn't working and something needed to change. A few weeks later it did change, but not in the way I had ever wanted. He left one day and never came back. Took the car and all the money we had left with him. There I was with 2 small children, no job, no money and no car. Once again, I had failed. This time I didn't fail myself, I failed my children and that was the hardest thing I ever had to face. They were heartbroken and there was nothing I could do to fix this.

He eventually filed for divorce and I, with the help of my family, got back onto my feet again. I found a job where I could work from home so that saved me from having to deal with the whole childcare issue and was able to keep the lights on and food on the table. It doesn't bring in as much as I was used to but it was enough. But I still had to stare that failure in the face every time the kids asked for Daddy. He never comes to see them, he gets every other weekend and holiday with them but he never comes to pick them up. How do you explain this to your kids when they ask you why? This was my ultimate failure, I let children be brought into this world from a father that doesn't give a rat's ass about them, and this is what eats at me all the time. You would think that after everything I had been through I would have seen something, somewhere that all wasn't it what appeared to be. That was when I built those walls. I told myself never, ever, would I let someone get close to me like that again. I have had enough for one lifetime.

By the time I was done talking my face was wet with tears. Leo however sat next to me and listened quietly to every word and his face was lost in thought. "You have had it rough, haven't you..."

I smiled a small sad smile. "That's not even including all the bullies I had to deal with in school. I was the poor shy kid that always got picked on. I guess that's why I just chose to stay away from folks. I don't trust anyone anymore. It seems to me like there is no good in the world anymore so I distance myself from the world."

"But yet you let us in your life." He looked at me with that penetrating gaze of his.

I shrugged. "I grew up watching you guys. Like I said before I could always depend on you to cheer me up. I could always forget about my problems, for a little while anyway. That didn't change as I got older. I always held onto the one thing that I really enjoyed as a child and brought it into adulthood with me. I would spend hours sometimes losing myself in your adventures after I put the kids to sleep for the night. I feel comfortable with you four." I looked at him. "You have done so much for me you don't even realize. Especially you, Leo."

"Me?" He asked, still boring into me with his blue eyes. "And why is that?"

"Because I felt the struggles you face trying to lead your brothers echoed my own struggles to raise my children. I connected with that. I wished so many times to find someone like you."

His blue eyes met my brown ones, sending the now familiar chill up my spine. There was something there between us, something I had always hoped for but never really expected to feel. I was drawn to him as his eyes held mine, held by something I couldn't explain.

"Maybe you have." He finally whispered after a few endless seeming moments. Before I knew what was happening he leaned in and kissed me. After the shock wore off I felt myself returning that kiss. Wasn't really hard for me, I've been dreaming of this for years. There was a part of me that couldn't belive this was actually going on. Was this really happening? Was I really sitting here lip locked with a Ninja Turtle? One who I had been secretly crushing on for years? Somebody pinch me...I had to be dreaming.

After a few moments I pulled away from him and turned my head to the side. My feelings were having a hard time trying to make their way around that wall I had put up and I have to admit, at that moment the wall won. "I'm sorry..." I choked out once I realized I might have hurt him by doing that. Damn I was an emotional mess. Feelings I never thought I would be able to feel were mixing with disappointments from the past. I didn't know what to think at that moment.

He reached out his hand and turned my face back toward his. "It's ok. I fully understand. There is nothing to be sorry about." He stood up and offered me his hand to help me up and I took it. "Come on, let's go back inside. It's getting chilly out here and I can tell you're cold." Huh, my cold lips must have given it away...

Still holding hands we walked back towards the house. He pulled me to a stop before we went inside and turned me to face him again. His eyes took in my tear streaked face a long moment before he spoke. "You know, I wish you could see yourself as others see you. You are not a failure. You are a strong person and you did everything you could to make it right. It's not your fault." He leaned down and kissed me on the cheek. "I have a lot of respect for you, even more now from listening to you earlier. What happened to your friend and your marriage was not your fault, you can't control other people. The rest were mistakes. It's time you respected yourself. Now go get some rest." He opened the door for me and followed me inside, leaving the now chilly night behind.


	4. Chapter 4

That night I had trouble sleeping, well can you blame me? I just told my, to me, disturbing past to my now not so secret crush and he kissed me, of course I couldn't sleep. I had more emotions and thoughts swimming in my head than sharks in a feeding frenzy. Finally after a couple hours I gave up and got out of bed. Putting a robe on, I snuck quietly up front, trying not to wake the now sleeping ninjas scattered all over my living room and went to the kitchen. I poured myself a glass of water and snuck my way back to my room. I thought I did pretty good not waking them up. Hey, you try sneaking around the sneak kings, not as easy as you think.

I walked to my bedroom window and, taking a sip of water, I looked out over the moon drenched fields. I put the glass down on my bookshelf then threw the robe onto my dresser. My life had just gotten a bit complicated but surprisingly I wasn't upset about that. What bothered me was the fact that this wouldn't be able to last, they would find a way home and I'd have to let him go. Were we even doing the right thing between us right now? And what about our families? What would they think? I sighed as I watched the night. What was I going to do...

"Didn't I tell you to get some rest?" Seriously? How the hell did he get past my squeaky door!? At least I didn't jump this time. His arms wrapped around me from behind and he snuggled up close to me. I could feel his smooth plastron on my back, he didn't have any of his gear on. It actually felt nice having him near like that.

"I couldn't sleep."

"And why not?" Right to the point again. I think that's what I like about him so much, always to the point. Cuts away the annoying chatter. Well two can play that game.

"Leo, what are we getting into? I mean, what will happen between us when you go back?" I couldn't help the tears in my eyes, but I felt it needed to be said before this went any further. I kept my gaze firmly outside though, I didn't want him to see me cry...again.

"Honestly, I don't know. But that doesn't change the fact that I care for you." He grew quiet himself and together we looked out the window for awhile, his arms around me and me leaning on his chest. I was painfully aware that I was wearing a short, silk, nightdress. Blue of course, it was one of my favorite colors...for obvious reasons. He didn't seem to mind that I was standing there in the skimpy thing though. Any other man would be all over that, not him. It was as if he knew I wasn't ready and just kept his hands locked in that hug around my waist. And that's all he did, he just held me. My respect for him grew once more.

I found I was having that inner struggle with myself. I was trying so hard to take a sledge hammer to that god damn wall I had built. I wanted so bad to let him in, the one person I knew would not intentionally hurt me and I couldn't let him in. At least we both knew he wouldn't be able to stay. That was a given from the get go. To put it bluntly he didn't belong in my world and I fully understood that. But did I really want him to leave before I could show him exactly how much I cared for him? How much time did we have? Days, weeks, months? Could I risk waiting? But I just couldn't let him in, not by myself. I turned in his arms and looked into his blue eyes, I was right he had no gear on, not even his mask. The only thing he had on were his shorts. I reached up my hand and stroked his cheek. "Leo...I want to let you in, but I can't. I need help, please..."

He looked down at me for a moment, his eyes locked on mine. I could feel the tension brewing between us again but he seemed hesitant. For a moment I thought he would back away. He then brought his head down and kissed me for the second time that night. This time I didn't turn away but instead leaned into him. I was fighting myself and he knew it, he just took his time and let me overcome my fears. We kissed for awhile until I was ready to move further. I let my hands glide over his well muscled arms that still held me close. I was actually trembling, I was so nervous. He felt it and pulled his head back, breaking the kiss. "Are you sure you want to do this? We can wait. As much as I want to do this, I don't want to rush you either."

My reply was kissing him on his chest, right where his plastron met his skin. He felt so warm under my lips. I could feel him pulling me closer, if that was even possible, and heard a real light moan form in his throat. That sound, as light as it was, sent chills down my spine and made a warm feeling spread in my lower stomach. I felt his hands tighten around my waist, then he slowly moved them down to my hips. He was so soft, so gentle as his hands found the bottom hem of my nightdress and slipped under it. It was my turn to moan softly now as I felt his fingertips on my skin as they moved up and around to my back, softly caressing me. I raised my lips from his chest and looked him in the eyes, god I loved those eyes I could get lost in them without a map and I would be deliriously happy in them...

He leaned in and kissed my cheek, then began to slowly work his way down my neck, nibbling and kissing as he went. His hands still working their magic on my back, his fingertips moving with such soft movements. Between the gentle hands and soft nibbles I let out another moan. I let my hands wander his chest, his plastron was surprisingly smooth. I then brought my hands over his arms again. I couldn't get over how strong but gentle they were. Still nibbling my neck I felt his hands wander to my lower back, then reach my underwear. I couldn't help but tense up as he started to remove them. He immediately stopped and pulled his head back again, his eyes searching mine but he didn't move his hands. I was scared, god I was scared, but I was going to overcome this fear damn it. I put my hands over his and pushed them down, along with the garment and they fell to the floor.

His eyes were still locked onto mine as he brought his hand between my legs and rubbed me very softly. That simple touch was like fire, I gasped loudly and arched back. He quickly steadied me with his other arm and pulled me back close to him. He softly rubbed me as I moaned into his chest, god he was so gentle. Then I felt his fingers slip into my folds and my legs started to tremble, if it hadn't been for his other arm holding me up I would have collapsed. My breathing grew heavier as his finger worked inside me, then he brought his head down and caught me in yet another kiss. I moaned into his mouth hungrily, returning his kiss, my arms wrapped around his neck. God I was on fire and he was the fuel, I couldn't get enough of him.

He pulled his finger out and then picked me up, his lips still locked onto mine, and moved me to the bed. The bed that my ex and I had shared, I had been meaning to get rid of it but never got around to it. It always filled me with bad memories of him. Now there were going to be new memories made this night. Leo softly sat me down on the edge of the bed and then gently laid me back. I watched him as he made his way down to my legs, spreading them apart with his gentle hands. The he knelt down and brought his head towards me and fire exploded in me as he put his tongue to work. I moaned and my fingers were trying to dig holes in my bed covers as he worked his magic. It felt so good, he felt so good. I couldn't help but move my hips and he brought his hands on them to hold me steady. I lost myself in his movements, in the pleasures he was giving me. I could feel myself getting close and I quickly grabbed a pillow and bit into it, hard. Just as I did an enormous feeling rushed through my body and I moaned loudly into my pillow as wave after wave of pleasure filled me. Holy fucking shit, never have I had one that intense, and that was just with his mouth! Oh this was going to be a fun night...

I laid on the bed breathing heavily, trying to catch my breath. He leaned over me and brought his head down to nuzzle my neck again. Then he stopped and brought his mouth close to my ear. "Are you alright?" He whispered softly. I melted, he just gave me the orgasm of a lifetime and he was worried for me. How can your heart not melt? The last few rubble pieces of that wall I had spent years forming vanished. I was completely open to him. I knew he wouldn't touch me unless I answered him though so I nodded, wasn't quite ready for words just yet, and kissed his neck.

After a few moments I was able to breath again. I pushed him up until he was standing in front of me. My hands found their way to the top of his shorts and undid the ties that held them up. As my hands slid them down, I brought my mouth toward his inner thigh and softly brushed my lips and tongue against his skin. I heard a very peculiar sound come from him. Well whadaya know...the Turtles do actually churr when you arouse them... Take note of that folks, they do churr and it is a wonderful sound to hear. Finding the slit I was looking for wasn't hard either and I was impressed that he had that much self control to keep it penned up while he worked on me. Now it was time to return the favor, softly I brushed my fingers over it, this time I was rewarded with a moan/churr combo. I could listen to that sound all night...

I continued to work my lips and tongue on him as my hand worked on his slit, slowly coaxing him out, listing to Leo's churrs of pleasure above me. I felt his hands in my hair, gently running his fingers through it. Finally I felt him drop into my hand with a moan and I removed my mouth from this thigh. Oh my, he was well built down there also. I took him into my mouth and I heard him gasp and his fingers tighten in my hair but he quickly let go and pulled them out. Dear, sweet Leo, he didn't want to hurt me in any way, not even by accidently pulling my hair. I softly let my mouth work on him and used my hand for what I couldn't reach. The dual motion of both my mouth and hand set off a series of moans and churrs from him, his hands stroking my head but being careful not to entangle those fingers in my hair. He didn't try to push my head to further get himself inside me more, he just let me go at my own pace. A pace he was obviously enjoying.

Finally he pulled himself away from me and, grabbing my hand, he gently pulled me to my feet. His hands then went to the hem of my night dress and this time I didn't hesitate a moment as he pulled it off. He looked at me with again with those glorious eyes of his, his hand caressing my cheek. "Are you sure?" He asked very quiet.

"Yes." Was my simple reply. He sat on my bed and took my hand and pulled me toward him, then he guided me to where I was straddling him on my knees. I felt his warm arms wrap around me to support me as I lowered myself onto him. The feeling of him inside me made a low moan escape my lips. He felt so good as he filled me. I brought my arms around him and pulled him as close as I could while I moved against him. There was nothing else that mattered at that moment, just me and him moving as one while the full moon shone through the window, the only sounds were our sounds of pleasure. At that moment everything was ignored but our need for each other. I was his and he was mine. I pulled him into a kiss as I grew close, he could feel me start to tighten up around him but I wasn't quite there yet. He removed an arm from around me and moved it to my front, then lowered his hand, brushing me with a finger. That sent me over the edge and I held him firmly, pulling him as close as I could while my lips were pressed to his. I used his mouth to muffle my cries of pleasure as once again waves of release washed over me. His hold tightened on me as he too let himself go, his churr a long and low one this time. I collapsed against him, fully spent, the only thing holding me up were his strong arms. He shifted me around to where I was sitting on his lap, then he softly kissed my hair.

"Leo..." I sighed as I snuggled against him feeling his warm arms around me, holding me close to him. I leaned my head on his shoulder just happy to be so close to him. At that moment I felt complete, whatever happens in the future Leo would always know that I cared deeply for him. The thought of him leaving still brought a tear to my eye but at least I had this one moment with him. Refusing to cry and spoil this wonderful memory I let myself drift off to sleep in his arms secure in the knowledge that he would watch over me.

I woke up the next morning to the sound of the kids fighting over who got to use the bathroom first and the smell of breakfast drifting in. I could hear the TV on, Saturday morning cartoon apparently. I was lying in bed with the covers wrapped snugly around me. Confused at first I wondered why the hell was I butt friggin naked, then I remembered what happened last night. Still groggy with sleep, I thought at first I had dreamt the whole thing until I woke up enough to take in my surroundings. On the pillow next to me was a single white flower. A small smile that found it's way to my face at the sight of it. 

I figured I had better get up and deal with the bathroom fight before someone got smacked upside the head with a shampoo bottle. I slowly got up and threw some clothes on, then opened the door to my room just in time to see a toothbrush come flying out of the bathroom. I sighed, it was going to be one of those days. I went in to see them playing tug of war with the toothpaste. Well that wasn't going to end well...

"Give me that." And I took it from them. I got a dual set of 'Oh shit, Mommy is up.' looks. "Amy brush your teeth. Dennis you go up front and wait your turn."

"But I wanna brush my teeth first!" Came the predictable whine.

"Up front. Now." Stomping every step of the way, he finally complied. I sighed again and turned to help my daughter. If I let her do it own her own I'm going to be scraping up toothpaste off of everything. Once she finished I called to Dennis that he could brush his teeth now and took Amy to her room to get her dressed. She picked out her clothes and got herself dressed with no problems, a lucky break for me, and I shooed her to go get some breakfast while I dealt with the stomp king. Finally I got them both at the table eating their breakfast that Mikey had made. I sighed yet again as I plopped myself in a chair.

Mikey chuckled as he brought me a plate. "Rough morning?"

"It's always like this on the weekends." I told him. He just chuckled again. I looked around noticing the empty living room. "Where is everyone?"

"Out training. I thought I would stay here and get you guys something to eat started. We already ate."

"You didn't have to do that."

"I know I didn't have to, I wanted to."

I laughed. "Alright, you win. Thank you." He just winked and turned back to the stove to start cleaning up. After the kids finished eating I sent them outside. They had way too much energy this morning. I stayed inside and helped with the dishes, ignoring Mikey's protests. I just stuck my tongue out at him and did them anyway. 

Finally with my kitchen back in order I went outside with Mikey. The kiddos were awfully quiet, usually not a good sign. I found them at the training area watching they guys train. Raph was pumping iron and Donnie and Leo were, what seemed to me, trying to beat the crap out of each other. I had to stop and stare for a moment. This was the first time I really watched them fight. Usually when they train I'm inside working, so I never really got to see this. They were beautiful to watch, their speed and grace taking my breath away. The kids were standing nearby watching in awe. Mikey went over to Raph and asked him if he was ready for a round, to which Raph nodded. Then they too unleashed their skill on each other. I walked over to the kids. "You guys stay away from them while they train. You can watch but don't get too close ok?" I got two nodding heads in reply, I knew I could trust them, they do listen believe it or not, so I went back into the house to take a quick shower before they guys came in to take theirs.

After I got done, I wrapped myself and my hair in towels and went to my room. Apparently just in time because I heard the front door open. I looked at the flower on my bed and I sat down on the bed and picked it up. I just sat there holding it my hand, my thoughts far away at that moment. It was just a simple wild flower, they grow all over the place here, but very pretty. I smiled again, this was something you never get to see on TV about Leo. Again he managed to surprise me. 

"I take it you like the flower?" Yup, this time I jumped.

"Do you have to do that?"

He gave me that half grin of his. "Actually, yes I do." He came over to the bed and sat next to me.

I smiled at him, already forgetting that he just scared the bejesus out of me. "Yes, I love the flower." I looked at him. "Thank you, and I don't mean just for the flower either."

He reached out and pulled me close to him, wrapping an arm around me. Then he kissed my cheek. "You're very welcome. I'm going to go get cleaned up." I nodded and got up myself to start getting dressed. 

Leo had just left my room and closed the door, how the hell does he do that without it squeaking?, when I heard someone barge into the house. 

"Leo!" Came Donnie's voice "I think I figured out what happened. And I might know a way to get us back home." 

With those words I felt my heart drop in my chest and I sank back to the bed. Those words I really didn't want to hear just yet....and they stung as I replayed them in my mind. I didn't hear Leo's reply because I was to busy listening to my heart break. No, I should be happy for him, he was going home where he belonged. I pulled myself together and refused to wallow in self pity. I knew this was going to happen, we both did. I was going to be stronger than that, I was going to let him go. It was the right thing to do. But why did it have to hurt so much......


	5. Chapter 5

For the upteenth time in ten minutes I smacked Mikey's hand off of the radio knob. "Leave the radio alone you goof. Jim is going to be pissed if you mess with his stuff." Grumbling he went back to where he was sitting. We were in my brother's van, the only vehicle large enough to hold all five of us. It was one of those old gas guzzling behemoths that were popular before the minivan came out. As large as it was, Jim and Donnie still had to take out all the seats to fit the guys in.

We were making a not really legal night run to the city dump/junk yard in the next town over so Donnie could gather parts to put together his idea of getting them home. I was trying to drive and keep Mikey away from the radio at the same time. It was bad enough Jim had to basically tear out the inside of it, I didn't want him to be upset because Mikey broke his radio. Not to mention he was stuck at my place with my little rascals. My brother loves his van, god help me I bring it back with anything wrong. And to make matters worse I was pulling a trailer and I was out of practice with that. I could pull one if I had to, learned it in the army, but I didn't do it often anymore. I really didn't need Mikey's antics right now.

The other three were chuckling at Mikey's grumbles. "I think you can live through a little road trip with out music." Raph told him.

"Hey, there is music on." I protested.

"Yeah, but it's country music. Not really my thing." Came the grumpy voice of the youngest behind me.

"Mikey, I love you like a brother, but sometimes you act like my kids." That brought out laughter behind me, even Mikey.

"How much farther?" Leo asked.

"Another few minutes to reach town, then I have to drive through it to get to the dump. About another fifteen minutes or so."

We rode quietly for awhile as I turned off of the freeway and pulled into the city limits. Carefully I made my way through the town. My driving was near perfect tonight, there was no way I was going to risk getting pulled over. The guys in the back might be hard to explain. Finally we made it to the seedier part of town, I really hated coming here. Even during the day the place was a shit hole of the town's degenerates. Drugs was becoming a big problem in this area and you could tell. A lot of abandoned houses and such. If it wouldn't be for the fact I had them with me I wouldn't even think of coming here. Finally I turned a corner and the dump was in front of me. I pulled the van around to the fence and drove down the little service road running alongside it. I wanted to be out of sight as much as possible. Finally I found a secluded spot and pulled in, then turned the van off. "There you go guys. That fence there is where you need to go."

We got out and walked over to the fence. "Can you get over that? Or do I need to pull the van closer?."

"No, it's fine, we can get over that." Donnie told me. I shrugged. It seemed pretty high to me, but then I wasn't a Ninja Turtle. Donnie grinned at me and took a running start, then he launched himself into the air and flipped over the fence, easily clearing it.

"Show off." I muttered. Raph and Mikey followed Donnie over. Man I have to admit I was getting jealous, I wished I could do that.

Leo came up to me. "You going to be ok here?"

"Yeah, I suppose. This isn't the best spot in town but I tried to hide us as best I could. I'm hoping no one will see me here."

He leaned in and kissed my cheek. "We will try to hurry."

"Don't miss anything you might need just because of me, Leo. I'll be ok." He gave me that 'I don't knoooow' look but went over the fence anyway. I sighed as I watched them slip out of sight. Suddenly I felt alone, I wasn't used to having at least one of them not in close proximity. I sat down on the edge of the trailer and found myself looking up at the sky as I always did when I was alone outside. The moon was still as bright as it was last night, though it was a bit cloudy tonight. It gave the moon a softer, fuzzier glow but it was still pretty. 

Faintly I could hear them chattering in there, mainly Mikey goofing off. Followed by Leo's "Will you guys knock it off and be quiet!" I couldn't help but chuckle at that one. I had a few days now to compare the real them to the ones I grew up with. For the most part, to me anyway, they seemed to be a mix of all the tv shows rolled into one. They had their goofy moments but there were times when they could be serious to a fault, well most of them, Mikey was always a goof. As could be heard from the renewed antics going on in the dump. This time it sounded like there was a wrestling match going on in there, lots of clattering and 'Ow, ow, ow, ow!" could be heard. Then there was a double slapping noise. "Knock it off! Jeez are you trying to get us caught? Mikey go help Donnie, Raph you come with me." I laughed openly at that.

"You're not helping." I heard coming my way, I guess Leo could hear me. That shut me up real quick. If he could hear me then so could others and I had no clue who could be out here. But It was nice to know that they were in ear shot. Made me felt a bit better. I started to wonder if Leo had done that on purpose. He knew why I didn't want to be here after dark and maybe this was his way of watching over me.

I walked around back to the driver's door, fully intent on hiding in the van. It was to exposed out here, at least in the van I could lock myself in. I was almost there when I found out I had been to slow with that idea. I was grabbed from behind and a hand went over my mouth. "Well, well, well. What are you doing here bitch?" I heard.

Shit, maybe my laugh had given me away after all. There was one holding me and four more came into view in front of me. The van was between me and the fence, the guys wouldn't be able to see me. With my mouth covered I couldn't even scream. They moved closer to me. "Let me show you what we do to trespassers on our turf." The one directly in front of me mumbled.

I didn't give him the chance, I'm not a Ninja but I'm not exactly helpless either. I had a sergeant when I was in the service that made it his personal mission to make sure his troops could handle themselves. I now thanked Sgt. Cortez silently as I stomped my foot onto the one holding me then kicked the same leg out and nailed the leader in the nuts. I felt the hand release my mouth and I took that moment and used it. "Get off of me!" I yelled then elbowed the one holding me in the nose. I knew I couldn't fight them off, there were five of them, but if I could just keep them away long enough...

The other three moved in and grabbed me again as their pals got themselves together. I took satisfaction in the fact the one I elbowed had a bleeding nose. They pushed me up against the van and I managed to get another kick in. I connected with someone's shin. "You fucking slut, we were just going to take your money and van. Now it's personal."

"You're not taking shit. I told them." I noticed a dark shadow fly over the van, landing quietly behind them. Another followed close behind.

"Like there is anything you can do to stop us." The man sneered.

"She won't have to." Raph growled and then he and Leo lashed out. Anyone want to take bets on how that turned out? Leo and Raph didn't even pull out their weapons, they just punched the guys into submission. After they had pummeled the guys into the ground, much to my satisfaction, Leo and Raph came up to me. Leo took me into his arms, ignoring his brother's stunned look. "Are you alright?" I could see Raph's sly grin. Oh boy...

"I'm fine, Leo." I told him, still wrapped up in his arms.

"You handled yourself well." Raph chuckled. "Looks like you got a hit or two in yourself."

"I'm not completely defenseless you know." I said pulling away from Leo. Raph's cheesy grin was starting to embarrass me.

"So, were you guys going to tell us about this?"

Leo sighed. "We weren't trying to hide it really, Raph. We are just trying to figure things out ourselves."

Raph looked at his brother then at me. I think he understood at that moment exactly what we were dealing with. Hell the reason we were here in the first place was to get Donnie some stuff so he could build something to take them home. Raph may look like a big hotheaded brute, but he is smart. And not without compassion either, as I seen in his eyes once he figured out how this was going to turn out for us. He was shrewd too, as his next action proved. After giving his brother and me a sly look he said. "I'm going to go tie these guys up and dump them in the woods somewhere, then I'll go back and help Donnie. You ok to stay here with her?" Leo nodded.

I saw right through his little scheme, and I think Leo did too. I let him know he wasn't fooling me. "Thanks for the alone time, bud." I told him. He gave me a big cheesy grin again and winked. He and Leo then secured to bumbling wannabe vanjackers and drug them into the woods. Then I saw Raph's dark form run out of the woods and leap over the fence again. Leo walked back towards me. "You sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine, really." I replied as he came up to me and slipped his arms around me. He just quietly held me close to him. "He's going to tell the others, isn't he?"

Leo chuckled. "Probably."

I sighed and laid my head on his shoulder. "Well there goes what little peace and quiet I did have..."

This time he laughed. "I can go brick up his mouth if you want."

"No," I giggled "it's fine." I wasn't really bothered by it. Hell we weren't really trying to hide it honestly, but we both knew Mikey. He wasn't going to let us live this down.

We stood quietly listening to the noises of his brothers as they were puttering around. "You guys finding anything in there Donnie needs?"

"Surprisingly yes. It's a good thing you brought the trailer."

Suddenly Leo stiffened, I could feel it in his body. Something had gotten his attention. I raised my head up and looked at him. "Get in the van and lock yourself in." He whispered. "Hide in the back." He softly pushed me to the van. Once I got in and locked the door I looked for him but he was no where to be seen. Then I saw some more forms moving around in the shadows. Shit, apparently the morons from earlier had friends looking for them. I quickly ducked down and made my way toward the back of the van.

"Hey look what we have here." I heard. "Someone left us a nice van to play with." I heard someone try the handle.

"It's locked." Said another voice.

"I thought we were out here to look for those idiots. We were supposed to meet up with them an hour ago." There were three at least out there.

"I'd rather have the van. I'm not going to search the whole area for them." said the first one. "Go around and check the other doors while I try to jimmy this one open."

I heard something playing with the driver's door as two sets of footsteps went around the van. Then just as quick as the noises started it stopped, followed by a grunt. I couldn't help but smile, Leo was getting his exercise tonight. Then on the other side of the van I heard someone thud into it, hard. Ouch...sucks to be them.

I heard a soft knock on the side door and I opened it up and chuckled as I saw Leo standing there over two bodies laying in the grass. "I'll be right back, I'm going to dump them with their friends. Stay in the van." I nodded and closed the door back up.

A few minutes later he came back and I stepped back out. "You're pretty useful to have around." I smiled at him.

He grinned back at me. "That never gets boring." I laughed quietly.

"Hey If you two are done making out we could use some help here!" That was followed by laughter from the other two. I'm going to kill that orange masked turtle...

Leo just sighed and hopped over the fence to help his brothers. It was slow going trying to get all of the stuff over the fence and into the trailer. Donnie had found a lot of crap and some of it was heavy. I was curious to see what he would turn all this junk into. Finally we got everything loaded up and tied down and we all piled into the van. Carefully I maneuvered the clumsy contraption back out onto the road and started to drive us home.

"So, did you guys have fun?" Mikey asked. (smack) "Hey! I was just asking Leo! Jeez..."

"And I answered."

"Did you have to answer like that?"

"You want another one?"

"Nope. I'm good. For a few minutes anyway."

I just shook my head smiling. These guys were nuts. "Did you get everything you need, Donnie?"

"I think so. Everything I can get from there anyway."

"Good." Leo spoke up. "I really don't want to go back if we don't have too."

"Raph told us what happened." Donnie said.

"More came after that." Leo told him.

"And you didn't let me know?"

"There was only three Raph. I can handle three."

"I just don't want you to over work yourself is all."

"Ha. Ha. Very funny."

"I thought it was." Mikey chirped "Hey McDonald's!"

"We are not stopping." Leo told him.

"But I'm hungry!"

"You're always hungry." Donnie said "I don't know where you put it all."

"In that empty space where his brain is supposed to be." Came from Raph. This was followed by a round of chuckles.

"I wonder what's on the radio..." I slapped his hand as it reached for the knobs.

"Seriously? Are we going to go through this again Mikey?" I asked him.

"I was hoping you changed your mind."

"Sit down you oaf." Raph told him. Grumbling the youngest sat back down. I'll give them one thing, it's never boring with them. The rest of the way home was filled with this kind of banter. I almost had to pull over a few times because I was laughing so hard. Finally I pulled into our long drive and parked the van in front of the house. I went inside to let Jim know I was home and give him back his keys. Mikey came in right behind and raided my fridge.

"Garbage gut." I smiled at him. He just winked at me as I went back outside. "Just unhook the trailer guys. We can unload it in the morning. It's getting late." They nodded and began to unhook it. I let them do it, there was no way in hell I could lift that. Once it was unhooked my brother said his goodnights and drove his van home. I yawned as I watched him go.

"You look tired." Leo said.

"I am. You guys kept me up way past my bedtime."

I caught a mischievous gleam in his eye. "Oh no, don't you-" He scooped me up into his arms bridal style. "Oh come on! Put me down!" I could hear the others laughing as he carried me into the house. I was so going to hurt him...

"Hey, Leo. You might as well sleep in there with her tonight. You two aren't fooling anyone anymore." Raph grinned as we walked into the house. Oh lord I was going to die from embarrassment. I knew I had to be blushing.

"Yeah, that will give me more room on the couch." Mikey said. He also had a grin on his face. So did Donnie.

"You guys are so dead." I told them.

"You can kill them tomorrow." Leo told me smiling

"You're on my shit list to! Put me down!"

"I'll make that up to you in private."

I gave up. There was no way I was getting out of this one. I just laid my blushing face into his shoulder and let him carry me to my room.


	6. Chapter 6

Later that night, much later actually, I finally let Leo off the hook. I figured he worked hard enough to make it up to me as I lay exhausted in his arms. At this rate I'm never going to get a full night of sleep anymore. Well as long as he was here anyway...Damn it, I had to go there, the one thought I had been trying to avoid all day. I snuggled closer into him, trying to hide my tears from him. I didn't want him to see me cry, I didn't want him to regret anything. He made me so happy and that's all I wanted him to see. I didn't want him to see how the thought of him leaving tore me apart. Trying to hide anything from him however is next to impossible. Leo is to aware of everything that happens around him not to notice. I felt his arms tighten around me. "Talk to me." He whispered.

"I just don't want you to see me cry."

"Oh, Vicky...I would be surprised if you didn't." He kissed my hair.

"I don't want you remembering my as a blubbering crybaby."

He laughed softly. "You're a nut."

"I'm serious."

"I know you are, and that's what makes it so funny." He lifted my face up to his. "Trust me, there will be more than tears in my memories of you." He whispered, then kissed me softly. "A lot more." He softly brushed my cheek with his thumb.

I sighed, he always seemed to know what to say to make me feel better. For a little while anyway. I just couldn't help but wonder if we did the right thing between us.

"Stop it." He said.

"Stop what?"

"Doubting what we did." Seriously? What the hell! Could he read minds now? "I don't regret a single thing that happened between us."

"How in the hell do you do that?"

"Ninja secret."

"Smart ass." He grinned at me. I sighed again and laid my head back down on his shoulder. He felt so warm against my skin, it was actually very soothing. Who needs a blanket when you have a nice warm Leo to snuggle up against. Finally I couldn't hold sleep back anymore and I drifted off.

I was startled awake the next morning by the sound of a loud clatter. Talking about having a heart attack, jeez.

"Be careful you butterfingers!" I heard Donnie fuss at someone.

"I'm trying! The stupid thing is heavy!" Go figure, Mikey.

"Can you guys get any louder? There is still someone sleeping." That was Leo.

"Hey, it's not our fault you kept her awake so late." Mikey popped back. I waited. (smack) Yup there it was. "Ow!"

"Raph, help him with that. Move out of the way you two. Mikey might drop something on you." I heard the kids laugh. Oh lord. I must really have been tired, I didn't even hear the kids get up. I slowly got up then threw my robe on. They must be unloading the trailer. I yawned and made my way to the shower while they were all busy. I just stood there and let the warm water pour over me. Lord I was still tired and the warmth of the water really wasn't helping. If anything it made it worse. I kind of drifted off in a not quite awake state of mind, barely conscious. I have no idea why I didn't fall over, or how long I was in a daze.

I snapped back awake when I heard the kids outside the bathroom window, sounded like a game of tag. Coming back to like that however did a number on my equilibrium and I felt a wave of dizziness hit me. I reached out to support myself on the shower wall just as I felt a pair of hands grab me around the waist. "Easy, I got you." Leo murmured. Ok he really had to tell me how he does that. And if he says 'Ninja secret' again I'm going to hurt him. He pulled me close to him the reached in to turn the water off. "You are going back to bed." He told me as he reached for a towel. Holding me with one arm he dried me off with the other. I was too tired to argue with him and I just leaned against him letting him work. It actually felt kind of nice to be babied for once. He helped me into my robe and once again I was picked up and carried.

Mikey was standing in the hallway, apparently waiting for his turn in the shower. "She alright?"

"Just tired I think. Get the door for me."

Mikey opened the bedroom door and stepped aside. The next thing I knew I was tucked back into bed. I was already starting to fall asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. The last thing I remember was Leo kissing my cheek, then I was out.

I woke up late afternoon and now I really felt like crap. My head hurt, I felt cold and my stomach felt like it was doing flips. Shit, this wasn't good. I tried to sit up and everything spun around me, yup really not good, and I let myself fall back into my pillow. Great...I was sick. I had a house full of mischievous turtles and two energetic kids and I was sick. I wondered what kind of bug my kids brought me home from school this time. Fuck it, I was getting up anyway. I got up and got dressed, Leo had left me in my robe, I guess he just wanted to get me into bed as quick as possible.

I opened the door and I heard they guys talking, and there was the occasional giggle of a little one. I listened as I walked up.

"I do not act like that!' I heard Mikey complain.

"I think they got you perfect." Raph chuckled. "I'm loving Donnie's crush on April thing. That's just too funny."

"Keep it up and I'll test that cockroach fear of yours out." Donnie replied. Oh lord...they couldn't be watching what I think they were watching... I rounded the corner to the living room. Yup, they were. There was a Ninja turtle marathon on, the 2012 series, and they were all gathered around the TV. That was actually kind of amusing...

"You bring a bug near me and I'll break your hand." Raph replied to Donnie.

Leo just shook his head. "I can't believe I'm watching this."

"Kind of takes your ego down a bit, doesn't it?" Donnie chuckled.

"The sad thing is it actually does remind me of us when we were kids." Leo replied laughing. "Especially Mikey's cooking attempts."

"And his pranks." Raph said.

"Hey!" Came the predictable protest.

I laughed as I moved into the living room. I didn't get far however when a wave of dizziness hit me. Raph shot up out of his chair and caught me as I lost my balance again. Leo was next to me in an instant. "Leo, she's burning up." Raph told him.

Donnie walked up to me and felt my head. "She's got a fever."

"Guess where you're going." Leo told me.

"Come on guys, I have kids to take care of." I protested.

"You're not going to do them much good if you fall flat on your face." Once again he picked me up. I was starting to wonder if he would ever let me walk again. I was plopped right back in my bed. "Stay put." He covered me up.

"You're a bully."

"You are just now figuring that out?" He smiled.

Donnie came into the room. "All right, what's wrong?"

"You guys are worse than a bunch of mother hens." I grumbled.

"Thank you. Now again, what's wrong?" Donnie replied.

I gave up. I told him my list of aches and pains. Then I asked for a bucket as he was about to witness one symptoms first hand. Donnie brought me the one I kept in the kitchen just in time and I got sick in it. "Sounds like a bad stomach virus. Bed and a light diet for you. And lots of fluids." Donnie told me. I sighed as he took the bucket and went to go clean it out.

Leo sat on the bed next to me. "You look like crap."

"Was that supposed to make me feel better?"

He smiled. "Well I'm not going to lie to you."

Donnie came back with the now clean bucket. "Here you might need this again."

I glared at them. "So am I allowed to go to the bathroom? Or are you going to make me use a bedpan?"

Donnie looked at me and grinned. "I can make you one if you want."

I had just enough energy to throw a pillow at him. Of course he was to quick for me and dodged it. He laughed as he left the room, tossing the pillow to Leo. He caught it and put it back on the bed. "Get some rest. Don't worry we will take care of the kids. We will even get them up for school tomorrow. You take care of yourself." He leaned over and kissed my forehead and left the room.

It took me about 2 days to shake the bug under Donnie and Leo's watchful eyes. Mikey brought me toast when I could stand something in my stomache and I had slowly worked my way up to broth. I had to admit they took good care of the kids and I. Especially Raph, he was the one that got them up in the morning and kept them occupied when they got home. Surprises you doesn't it? I think we all know he acts tougher than he really is. He does have a softer side to him, he just doesn't show it. And for once Mikey didn't tease him about it.

Finally I was allowed out of bed and began to move around the house, though they still wouldn't let me do any housework. But somehow my laundry stayed caught up and the living room looked nice. I had to ask them how in the world they managed it... Trying to keep toys from being scattered everywhere drove me nuts sometimes. Hell they even managed to get the kids to clean their rooms. Mom came by every once in awhile to check on things, Leo had told her I was sick. I think she was as pleasantly surprised as I was.

Finally I was allowed to go outside, I had Mikey hovering over me the whole time, but I was outside. I missed being outdoors. I had always loved nature, even when I was a kid. That's why I love living out here so much and I spent as much time outdoors as I could. I was sitting in a lawn chair watching Donnie work on his project. He had been working on it when he wasn't helping Leo bully me to stay in bed. It seemed to me he was making progress on it. I still had no idea how It was supposed to work though. Wasn't sure if I wanted the explanation either, it might give me a headache. I couldn't help a sad sigh as I watched him work. That would be the thing that brings them home.

Leo and Raph were sparring in the field, and once again their movements took my breath away. They were so quick you would miss a lot if you blinked. Maybe I should record this and watch it in slow motion. "How the hell do you guys move so fast?" I just had to ask Mikey.

"Master Splinter was a hard teacher. If you didn't move quick enough, you got hit." He grinned. "And he didn't pull his punches either. If he was going to hit you, he really hit you. We learned real quick while training that we had to be fast. Now, we have been doing it for so long it seems normal for us."

"But it awes anyone who watches you." I told him. "It's a thing of beauty to watch you guys." Leo and Raph had picked up the pace and I could barely follow their movements. The match was over when Raph was on the ground. I hadn't even seen what Leo did to him to get him there it went so fast. Leo went to help his brother up and Raph accepted his hand and stood up. I shook my head in awe. Amazing.

Suddenly there was the sound of a car pulling into the drive. The good thing is where we were you couldn't see from the driveway. It's why I had the guys set their stuff up behind the house. If I did get company they had time to hide before the car made it to the house. I got up out of the chair as the guys did their disappearing act and walked around the house. It was my best, and pretty much only, friend Mandi. "Hey! Your mom told me your were sick. I came to check on you." She said as she got out of the car.

"Hi, Mandi. I'm feeling better, why didn't you call me and let me know you were coming over?"

"I did. It kept going to voicemail." Ooops...My phone was on my desk I now remembered. "And I came over to see why you have been so quiet the last few days. I haven't heard anything from you since you called Leon for his old weights. You got a boyfriend here I don't know about?"

I couldn't help but blush and she saw it. She squealed "You do have a boyfriend! Who Is he? Where is he from? What does he do? Do I know him?"

Did I hear a snicker coming from the roof?

I sighed. I knew she wouldn't leave me alone until I spilled the beans. I walked back around the house to go sit back in my chair with her chattering self following me. I sat back down and she sat in the same chair Mikey had occupied just moments before. "So are you going to talk?" She was so excited. Normally she is a much calmer person.

I looked at her. "Mandi, you have to keep this between us. Don't even tell Leon. That husband of yours has a loose mouth." I told her seriously. "This is very important."

She returned the look, now back into her usual calm, serious self. This was important and she knew it. "Alright, is everything ok?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Vicky please, tell me. You're starting to scare me."

"I'm not trying to. As a matter of fact I'm safer now than you could possibly imagine."

"Are you going to tell me or not?"

It hung there a moment, I wanted to tell her but I had the obligation to keep the guys' secret too. It wasn't really my call to reveal them. "I can't. Not that I don't want too, I trust you enough to know you will keep your trap shut. I just can't."

"Why on earth not?"

"Because it's not her choice to make." Came Leo's calm voice from behind us. Mandi turned around in shock and froze, her mouth dropping open. Standing behind us were the guys.

"Holy..." She looked at me. "How...are they...SHIT!" She got herself under control with enormous effort. "Wow."

"You alright?" I asked her.

"Yeah, I just never thought I would actually, you know, get to meet them."

"Please, you can't tell anyone."

"I won't. I'm not that stupid."

I smiled at her. "Guys this is my best friend, Mandi. Trust me, she knows who you are."

Leo smiled. "So this is the famous Mandi. We have heard a lot about you."

"Really? From who?"

Mikey laughed. "From those two adorable children who look up to you like an Aunt."

"You wouldn't believe how much they talk about you." Donnie added.

"It don't surprise me either." I said. "She spoils them rotten."

She grinned at me. "So which one is the boyfriend?" Damn it, Mandi! There went that blush again.

"Busteeeeed." Raph, Mikey and Donnie chimed, pushing Leo forward. I blushed even more. At this rate I was going to turn into a lobster if they didn't quit.

"You guys are a bunch of babies." I told them. Three grins was my only answer.

Mandi chuckled. "So who is going to entertain me with the story of how this all happened?"

So the guys sat down in the remaining chairs and we told her of what had happened, and how Donnie was working on a way to get them home. By the time we got her caught up we heard the school bus pull up. "I'll go get them." She said and got up and walked around the house. You could hear the happy hollers as they noticed who was getting them off the bus today. Then they came tearing around the house. "Mommy, Mandi is here!"

"I know." I smiled at them. "Any homework today?"

Two heads told me no. "Then go get out of your school clothes then you can go play." They dashed into the house.

The next couple of hours was pleasant. Mandi and I had a chance to talk, Donnie went back to his machine, Leo and Raph helping him and Mikey went in to start supper. I had offered to help but got the 'Don't you dare get up' look. Mandi chuckled. Then she looked at the contraption taking shape in my yard. "So that's what's going to send them home?"

"Yeah." I got quiet.

"How does it work?"

"I don't know. And honestly I can't bring myself to ask." I told her quietly.

She looked at me. "You fell for Leo hard, didn't you." She asked me softly.

"Honestly the feelings were already there. I just never thought..."

"That you would get to act out on them?"

I nodded. We had been friends for years, she knew what I was struggling with. She reached out her hand and took mine. "It will be ok. If it was meant to be something will work out."

"I don't see how. We both know they don't belong here."

She just smiled and held my hand. I knew she would be there for me when the time came to say goodbye, she knew I would need her.


	7. Chapter 7

Mandi left right before dinner was finished, she had her own three kids to fix supper for. As she made her way down the drive Leo came up next to me, for once not scaring the pants off of me. "You have a good friend there."

"Yeah, one of the best you can ask for. She has helped me out a lot, especially during my divorce. You know, I wasn't going to tell her about you. Why on earth did you guys blow your cover?"

Leo was quiet for a moment. "I figured you might need her support here pretty soon." He said quietly. "And that would be hard if she didn't know what was going on. The guys agreed with me."

I looked at him stunned. He blew his cover for me? I was speechless. Mikey broke me out of my stunned bafflement. "Hey! Are you two going to come eat or what!" He yelled across the yard.

Leo chuckled and laid an arm across my shoulders and we walked to the house.

Mandi became a regular visitor at the house now, more that normal. She grew up with them too and didn't want to miss the chance to get to know them better. Of course the kids were thrilled to see more of her, the guys seemed to like her a lot too. We always had a lot of joking and laughter when she was there. 

She really made an impression on Mikey when she showed up on evening with some pizza. I had to laugh, I don't know who got to her faster, the kids or Mikey. "Lord it's like feeding time at the dang zoo!" She griped as the pizza boxes were ripped out of her hands.

Raph had come up behind his little brother and snatched the boxes from him. "Mind your damn manners."

"I don't have manners." Mikey grinned.

"You want me to take you outside and teach you some?"

"Aaah, no thanks Raph. I think I just found them." He turned to Mandi. "Thank you for the pizza."

The rest of us burst out in laughter.

During those days Donnie still worked on his device, checking and rechecking it over and over again, making adjustments as he went. He knew it was their only way home and would not leave anything to chance.

A few days later the words I dreaded the most passed Donnie's lips. "It's done." He stood up from the machine, brushing dirt and grime from his hands. and with those two words I felt a gut wrenching pain in my chest. I suppressed it the best I could, but something must have slipped through because I felt Leo slip his hand in mine and squeeze it.

We were all standing outside on the cool Saturday afternoon. Summer was starting to wind down now and the days were starting to cool off bit by bit everyday. I sighed and finally asked the question I had been avoiding. "So how does it work?"

Donnie looked at me kind of shocked, his wide eyes even bigger behind his thick glasses. I would have laughed, if I didn't feel like crying. I think he knew why I was avoiding the question, and it had nothing to do with my limited intelligence. "Well to put it simple, I downloaded your computer information on it to open the doorway we need. It was either that or I hook up your computer. I didn't think you would like it If I fried it though."

I smiled. "No I wouldn't have liked that."

"This is where it gets tricky. But I'll keep it simple. Somehow when the lighting hit it surged through your computer and somehow reacted with the files opening a gate with the video you were watching. That noise you heard from your computer that night was us coming through that portal."

I blinked. "Is that even possible...I mean it just seems so... made up. No offense."

"None taken." He smiled. "It's a bit more detailed than that but that's generally what happened. I rigged this up to work the same way, but in reverse. We have to be standing near it for it to work though."

I let that sink in. "You mean you are going to stand out here in a thunderstorm and wait for lighting to hit it?" I asked him. "Are you fucking nuts?"

He laughed. "That's what the long piece of metal is for. The bolt will hit that and be sent down. It's just a lighting rod on steroids."

My eyes were still a bit wide as I looked at him. "You better hope it works..." I mumbled.

"Have I been wrong yet, Leo?"

"I'm staying out of it, but if you toast me you're in for it."

"So we just sit and wait for the next thunderstorm to roll in?" I asked.

"Yeah, pretty much." Donnie replied.

"That might be awhile, they are starting to wind down for the year. We might get one or two good ones before fall sets in."

"Well I can't make something to control the weather so we will have to wait." Donnie shrugged.

Well at least that gave me some more time with them. Leo squeezed my hand again, the same thing apparently crossing his mind. We spent the next few days watching the weather. There was actually a warm up spell to where it got almost uncomfortably hot with a cold front coming in the next few days. Set up for some decent storms. If they were going to hit my area remained yet to be seen. I watched this unfold with a mix of happiness that they could go home and grief because they were leaving.

Finally the day came. It was a hot sticky day and we hid inside with the AC on. I quietly watched as the day progressed and the storms started to fire up. They guys had already made their goodbye rounds to my family and Mandi. She had come by to pick up the kids for the night, figuring I might not be in the best condition if they did leave tonight. "Call me if you need me. I'll have Leon watch them." She said before she pulled away.

They guys seemed kind of quiet to this evening. Leo especially and he never really left my side. I caught the other three looking at us when they thought I couldn't tell and I figured what was going on in their heads. As the sun started going down it became obvious that we were going to get hit. Every map we looked at showed that we were in the path of a monster storm. This was going to happen tonight. Leo and I stood there looking at the latest map when he grabbed my hand and pulled me into the bedroom. For once the others didn't tease him, they just quietly looked on.

He closed the door behind us and spun me around to face him before pulled me into a fierce kiss, one that I gladly returned. One more time with him, just one more...

His lips went from my lips to my neck and I leaned my head back, giving him full access. His hands wandered my body, trying, it seemed, to store everything in his memory one last time. He brought his hand up to my breast and gently squeezed, the feeling made me moan into his neck softly as he still nibbled on mine. My hands worked on the ties of his clothing around his waist and I managed to get them undone. I slipped my hand over his slit and was rewarded with a soft churr in my ear as I gently stroked him. He pulled away from my neck and met my mouth in another hungry kiss. He pushed me gently against the wall and undid my jeans, slowly pulling them and my underwear down until they dropped to the floor and I stepped out of them, kicking them to the side.

His gentle finger slid in between my legs and softly began to caress me as I was still coaxing him out of hiding, our lips and tongues tasting all we could of each other's mouths. With a churr he finally dropped into my hand and I ran that hand up and down his length, softly. He removed his hand from my, now wet, folds and lifted me up and lowered me onto him. I moaned as I felt him fill me, his arms under my thighs and his body holding me against the wall. I wrapped my arms around him as we started to move as one. With the first sounds of thunder rumbling in the sky, we held onto each other, making that one last final memory. With a sense of urgency now we moved harder against each other, driving ourselves closer to release. Finally, with a gasp and moan, I felt myself let go. I tightened around him and that brought him to his climax with me. His arms tightened their hold on me as we rode out our pleasure together. He held me close against the wall for a few moments, with my head on his shoulder, to let me catch my breath before louder crack of thunder told us both that it was time.

He softly put me down and we quickly redressed ourselves. We walked back up front and found the others waiting by the back door. The sky was full of lighting, but it wasn't close enough yet. The machine was set and ready in the field outside of the door, all that was missing was the storm and it wouldn't be long anymore before last piece was here. I held on tightly to Leo as we watched it move in, but I refused to let him see me cry.

The storm made it's way toward us and now I could see a lot of individual strikes hit the ground. Then the wind picked up as the front of the storm closed in on us, and the rain started to fall.

"It's time." Donnie said quietly. He turned to me and softly pulled me out of Leo's arms and gave me a hug of his own. "Thank you for everything." 

I smiled at him. "Your welcome, Donnie." I returned his hug.

Raph was next, the big guy surprisingly gentle. "You take care of them kids." He told me in his best grumpy but not grumpy voice. 

"You know I will big guy." I turned to Mikey. "You behave yourself." I told him as he too was given a hug. 

"I don't know the meaning of behave." He grinned at me. I laughed.

Finally I turned to Leo and he took me into his arms and held me tight. There was a loud crack outside. I pulled away from him and he kissed me softly on the cheek. "I'll miss you." He whispered.

"I know. Just like I will miss you."

"We have to go, guys. Now." Donnie said looking up. Leo let go of me and followed his brothers out of the house and they began to cross the field.

I watched as they made their way out in the weather. There was something I wanted to say but had never had the courage to. Something Leo needed to know before he left. They were about halfway there when I ran after them, ignoring the wind and the cold rain. Leo heard me coming and turned and I flung myself into his arms, now crying. I looked up into his eyes, his glorious eyes that I'll never see again. "I love you." I told him, tears making their way now down my face, mixing with the rain. The storm was now raging around us throwing my long brown hair around wildly, the sky ablaze with lightning and the fields echoing the thunder. He returned my gaze and lowered his head to kiss me gently, his tounge softly caressing mine as I let him in one last time. Then he slowly pulled his head back. "I love you too." His hand reached out and caressed my face. Then he turned and walked the rest of the way to stand with his brothers. Donnie had fired up the device and everything was now ready.

This time I stayed where I was. I watched him stand there, his eyes locked firmly on mine, until finally a bright flash hit the rod and there was a deafening crack of thunder. When my vision cleared they were gone. I collapsed onto the now muddy field and cried like a brokenhearted child, ignoring everything around me.


	8. Chapter 8

They were gone. Leo was gone. I sat there in the rain and with tear filled eyes, staring at the last spot I had seen them, somehow hoping my eyes were playing tricks on me. A loud crack of thunder made me finally get up and make my way back to the house. I slowly made my way to my bedroom and stripped out of the now soaked clothing and put some dry clothes on. The storm was blowing over now, moving out of the area.

I walked back up to my now empty living room and it felt strange after weeks of it being crammed full of ninja turtles. My phone rang and I picked it up and answered it. "Hey..." Came Mandi's voice. "Did it work?"

"Yes." I told her, my voice was shaky.

There was silence on the other end of the line. "You want me to come over?"

"No, it's fine. I just want to be alone tonight. Thank you though."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. If you want we can hang out tomorrow after you take the kids to school."

"Ok, I'll be there. I know it's hard but try and get some sleep, ok?"

"I will. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Take care." then she hung up.

I put the phone down and sat looking out the window for awhile, at the lighting playing across the sky in the distance. I finally sighed and got up and went to bed, tearing up at the thought of how empty it would be without Leo.

Needless to say for the next few days I was a mess. I missed them and my small home seemed so empty now without them here and my bed felt empty without Leo in it next to me. It took awhile but I slowly got back into my preturtle routine. That didn't mean they never crossed my mind. They would pop into my head numerous times during the day. I'd make supper and I'd recall some of the conversations Mikey and I would have, more and more I found myself cooking the way he did. The kids didn't seem to mind if I tried some of his ideas and failed miserably. They knew I was trying to keep some part of Mikey there for them and the only way I could was through the food. I eventually got better but the first few meals were rough.

I found Donnie's influence all over my computer when I worked. Before I had a bad signal problem, it happens sometimes when you live out in the boonies, and I had days where I just couldn't get any work done because of it. Now the whole thing acted like I was the one too slow. He had also left me detailed instructions on how to fix anything that might need fixing on it. He knew I was anything but a tech geek and he did everything he could to make sure my PC was running top notch. For an old piece of crap it ran better now than the most advanced military computer, well not that good but you get the idea.

Raph and Leo was seen in the presence of the kids themselves. They had changed a bit. Both of them, but mainly my daughter, had quick tempers. When they flared it wasn't pretty. I can't tell you how many times they had to dodge or deflect the other's thrown toys. Most of the time the evasive maneuvers didn't work. Now they talk more to each other if something bothers them. I didn't really understand where this change had come from until I heard Amy tell Dennis something one day. He was struggling with his homework, he was frustrated that day and it just didn't click for him. I could tell he was getting mad. Amy walked up to him "Remember, Raph said 'If you get mad at it, take a break. Breaks help.' " Dennis nodded and walked away from the table. I just stood there stunned. Normally she would make fun of him, not that time.

"Raph told you that?" I asked her.

She nodded. "He says he knows what it's like to get really mad. Told us if we ever get mad like that to take a break. Didn't matter what we were mad at."

Patience was Leo's influence. They used to get frustrated with something if it didn't go their way the first time, evident by the half finished puzzles I was always putting away. A few days after the guys left I found them both sitting on the floor working together on one. And they sat there and did the whole thing, pep talking each other if they couldn't get a piece to fit instead of just getting up and walking away. It took them awhile to get it but they were both thrilled. The smiles on their faces stayed with me for days.

Mandi came by often to check on me, I guess to make sure I wouldn't jump off a bridge or something. She seemed stunned that I was taking it relatively well. I could see it in her eyes that she was stunned I bounced back so quick. She had seen the big mess I was after my ex left me. Finally she just came out and told me. "I expected for you to be a bigger mess."

I looked at her. "I think it helped that I already knew how this was going to turn out before hand. I had time to prepare myself." Then tears did form in my eyes. "That doesn't mean that I don't miss them...him"

"I know, hon." And she gave me a hug.

The next few weeks passed uneventfully besides it slowly getting cooler. I spent one chilly afternoon walking my dad's goat pen. I did this for him a lot since he works. These guys were escape artists and I would let him know if I found some spots where they had damaged the fence trying to get out. This day I felt a little on the lonely side and when I finished I found myself wandering to the training area, that now pretty much sat unused. The various training dummies and equipment a constant reminder of the times I spent out here watching them. I sighed and leaned on the pole to the pull up bar they had made. Memories of them moving through my mind, still as vivid as the day I watched them train. Raph training with the weights, Mikey hanging off the pull up bar with his knees lifting his body up, Donnie beating up the practice dummies, Leo, dear Leo, sparring with his brothers. A single tear found it's way down my face.

I walked over towards the house again, my path taking me next to a tarp covered object that sat near my back door. I stopped and laid a hand on it, sighing. Dad had asked me what I wanted to do with the device that took them away from me. I couldn't part with it, not yet, so he and Jim wrapped it up for me in the tarp and placed it near my door. When he had time he would build me a shed to store it in. The man knew how much I missed them I think. Everyone did. I wanted to hold onto as much as I could.

The kids came home then and the rest of the day was spent on the usual homework, supper, bath time shuffle. For awhile I forgot my feelings. I read them their stories and finally got them tucked into their warm beds. Soon they were fast asleep and I once again found myself alone. I spent awhile on my computer, watching some clips of the guys. They meant so much more to me now than they did before. I paused a clip of Leo, the one where April meets him for the first time on the rooftop. I had loved that scene in the movie, I remembered getting goose bumps the first time I saw it. I reached out my hand and touched the screen, tears again forming. "I miss you." I whispered. "I miss you so much." I sat there for a few moments, my hand on the screen and tears running down my face, then I shut everything down and went to bed.

I put on that flimsy blue night dress again, it was now an unspoken favorite of mine. I wear it when I miss him a lot and it usually helps, but it didn't this time. I laid there for awhile but couldn't fall asleep. Thoughts and memories kept filling my mind, memories of us in this bed. I ached so much from missing Leo. Finally I sat up and reached behind me on the wall for the small frame I had hung there just recently. In that frame, placed on a black sheet of craft paper, was the flower Leo had given me all those weeks ago. I held the frame close to me as I finally drifted off to sleep.

In my dreams was the only place I found peace. They were with me, they always would be. I relived every moment we spent together, every night a different dream. I had so many memories I could relive in my sleep. Usually I would wake up feeling like I had spent time with them and it would make my day go by easier. This night however I dreamed about the night they left. The last time Leo and I had been close to each other, my goodbyes, standing there like an idiot in a raging thunderstorm. I felt myself come half awake, trying to shake that dream. Even in this state of mind I could feel my face was wet from tears. I turned over facing the edge of the bed and drifted off again, the frame still in my arms.

Once again Leo found me in my dreams. The tender kisses, the soft laughter, his body next mine, that last kiss and the words "I love you too." coming from his lips. I dreamt about the way he would kiss my hair, how he would stroke my cheek with his soft fingers. The dream felt so real, like he was right there next me. It felt like he never left. Mumbling under my breath I came half awake again, trying to shake the feeling and get some decent rest. I was slipping back to sleep again when I realized that the feeling of his fingers on my cheek didn't flee with the dream. Half asleep, dreams mixing with reality, I opened my eyes and there were his blue eyes staring back at me. Then I felt his lips on mine as he gently kissed them, was he...was he really here? Shaking the sleep from me I looked again, Leo was kneeling next to my bed, it couldn't be...

He smiled softly and took the frame out of my arms, that I still had a death grip on, and placed it on my nightstand. Leo then sat on my bed and softly pulled me close to him. It was real, he was really here. I threw my arms around him and he gently held me. I was in his arms, the one place I longed to be but never thought I would be again. I lost myself in the feeling of him. Finally I was able to put thoughts into words. "How...How are you here...please let this be real." I whispered.

"Very real." He replied softly kissing my hair. Then his hand brushed my cheek again. "You've been crying..."

"I missed you so much..." The tears flowing now were ones of happiness of being able to see him again.

"I know. I missed you too."

"How...how did you get here?"

"Donnie. He build a portal device that connects to the machine he made here. There is now a doorway between our worlds. He normally tests these things out first, but he let me go this time. We owe your dad a new tarp by the way."

"You mean..."

He smiled. "We can see each other when ever we want. He told me to tell you sorry it took him so long. I guess it was a complicated thing to build. It took him weeks."

"They didn't come with you?"

"No, not this time. They decided to stay behind tonight. You'll see them tomorrow I'm sure. Tonight it's just me, if that's ok with you..." He said. I just raised my hand and stroked his cheek. He lowered his head and we met in a kiss. After so long without him it felt so unreal to feel him against me again. He laid me back onto the bed and took a moment to strip his gear off, then laid down next to me, once again pulling me close. We kissed again and I shivered as I felt his hand glide down my side. As soft and gentle as I remembered. Slowly he removed my clothes and soon I found myself laying next to him with nothing on, just the feel of his body on my skin. He covered me with soft kisses, starting with my neck and slowly working his way down. He paid extra attention to my breasts, taking the time to nibble on each one for a few moments. I moaned, taking pleasure in the sensations I thought I would never feel from him again. Leo was here, he was here and all was right in my world again.

He had made his way down between my legs and I opened them for him. He brought his head down and started to caress me with his tongue. I closed my eyes, enjoying the feel of him on me in that now very sensitive area, my breathing growing heavier and a need building up inside of me. "Leo..please..." I whispered.

He brought himself back up to me and kissed me again as he took a hand and freed himself from his slit. I could feel that he was already hard...that must have hurt keeping it penned up like that... He positioned himself over me, and looking into my eyes he thrust slowly inside me. The feeling was more wonderful than I remembered it to be. I raised my legs up around him and pulled him as close to me as I could, my soft moans filling his ears and his churrs filling mine. Leo, my dear sweet Leo...

He moved quicker and my hips matched his pace, our breathing fast and heavy now. Both of us feeling the need for each other we kissed again, our mouths moving at a softer pace. I couldn't hold back anymore and I didn't even try. I arched my back into the bed and let my body's pleasure take it's course. "Leo..." I moaned his name as he, churring, came within me.

I laid under him, still breathing heavy, and looked into his eyes. Lord I had missed those eyes... "I love you so much."

He brought his head down and kissed me softly. "I love you. More than you could ever know." Was his whispered reply.

He settled down next to me and pulled me close. It seemed like he had no intention of letting me out of his arms anytime soon, and I wasn't going to complain either. Wrapped securely in his arms, I drifted off to sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

The next morning, before the sun was even up, we were woken up by a loud banging on the window. I was so startled I almost fell out of bed, Leo's quick reflexes saving me from an embarrassing tumble on the floor. "Is it safe to come in?" I heard Mikey yell.

Leo groaned and I shook my head. "I'm going to kill your brother." I mumbled to him.

"Not if I get him first." He pulled me close. "Good morning." He smiled at me.

"I still can't believe you came back. I thought I'd never see you again."

"I know. We owe Donnie a lot."

The banging sounded again on my window. "C'mon! Didn't you two get enough of that last night?"

"Will you leave them alone?" (smack) "Give them some time you pest." I had to laugh, there was Raph.

Leo just shook his head and sighed. "Come on, we better get up. He's been dying to come see you and the kids for days now. He's been driving Donnie nuts."

We slipped out of bed and got dressed. Then I went to the window and opened it. "You break my damn window I'm going to use your shell to fix the hole." I grumbled at Mikey. He reached up and grabbed me, pulling me out through the window, ignoring my squeal and gave me a big bear hug. I thought he was going to crack my ribs.

"Really Mikey?" I heard Leo say from behind me, still in the room. "You had to pull her out the window?"

He grinned and put me down. "I couldn't wait to tell her hi."

"Tell me about it," Raph grumbled. "He's been getting on our nerves all morning. Donnie finally told me to bring him so he could get some work done."

I laughed and gave Mikey another hug. "I missed you too, Mikey." He beamed at me.

Then I walked over to Raph and gave him one. "And, yes. you were also missed Raph." He gave me a sheepish grin. "Come on let's go inside. It's chilly out here this morning."

Leo met us at the door and we went inside, Leo slapping Mikey again as he came in. "You goof." He smiled at his little brother. Mikey just winked at him. The youngest then went into the kitchen and started breakfast. I guess he thought he owned it now. I looked at Raph and smiled. "You want to get them up for school?"

"Yeah, I kinda missed the little tykes." He smiled. Then made his way down the hallway. A few moments later we heard excited squeals and yells and we broke out into laughter. Finally we got them settled down, dressed, fed and on the bus.

"So let me look at this doorway of yours." I told them. We went outside and sure enough there was a portal next to the device. I looked into it and I could see Donnie sitting down in a chair at his desk apparently working on something. "Wow..." I was speechless. "This is...amazing..."

Leo chuckled. "Pretty routine for a Ninja Turtle. Go on, go tell him hi."

I was a bit nervous stepping through I admit. Leo took my hand and walked with me into the doorway. There was a slight lurch and I stumbled a bit but Leo steadied me. Then he let my hand go. And just like that I was standing in what looked like Donnie's lab. I slowly walked up to the purple masked turtle. "Hi, Donnie."

He spun in his chair. "Hi, Vicky!" He grinned and got up.

I threw my arms around him. "Thank you..." I started crying into his chest. "Thank you so very much."

I felt him wrap his arms around me returning my hug. "You're very welcome." He replied. "I couldn't just let you two end like that. I know Leo was heartbroken, even if he was too stubborn to admit it. I figured you were in similar shape. I couldn't stand that." He pulled back and smiled down at me. "I love you both too much to let it stay that way. Besides, I missed you and the kids too."

Mikey came bounding through the portal, followed shortly after by Raph. "C'mon! I'll show you around!" He practically pulled me out of the lab. I could hear Leo sigh at his little brother's antics. "He never grows up."

"Didn't expect him too, did ya?" Came from Raph.

"No but I keep hoping..."

Mikey had to show me everything, and I mean everything. Right up until we got to Raph's room. "Mikey, don't you dare take her in there!" He bellowed. I had to laugh at that. We bypassed Raph's room and stopped in front of another door. "This is Leo's-" Suddenly he was pushed away. 

"I can show her my own room, thank you very much." Leo told his brother.

"Spoilsport." Mikey mumbled, then he winked and walked off.

Leo pushed his door open. "Well here it is, my humble abode."

I stepped in, not really sure what to expect. It was a simple room and very neat. I smiled as I remembered a scene from the movie. 'Who wants to clean the dojo? I'll clean the dojo!' His room was very simple, but welcoming in a way. "It suits you." I told him. "I like it."

We walked back to the living area and I noticed there was one door I haven't been through yet. Mikey had kind of passed it by even though he had shown me everything else. Leo caught my look. "Master Splinter's room." He said quietly. He walked me over to it and opened the door for me. I could feel the others watching me quietly as I went in.

The room was as simple as Leo's and it seemed untouched, but clean. Apparently they took good care of the room. Soon I noticed why. On a low table against the far wall was an urn. I Looked up at Leo and he nodded, his eyes unreadable. I slowly walked up to it and knelt down on my knees next to it. I had always wanted to meet him. I would never get that chance but at least I could pay my respects to him. I reached out my hand but stopped, not sure if it would be ok. "Go ahead." Leo said softly from the doorway and I placed my hand on the urn and closed my eyes. Sending the master my thoughts of respect and love. Yes I did love him even though I never had the chance to meet him. He had loved his sons and that love shaped them into the beings I care so deeply for now. Finally I sent him my thanks for being such a caring father to them. I felt something flow over me, as if I could feel his love in return. I caught my breath as the feeling overcame me. Then it disappeared and I slowly removed my hand. I sat there for a few moments then stood up and slowly made my way out of the room. By now the other three were standing around Leo, watching me. "Are you ok?" Leo asked me.

I nodded quietly. "I could, for a moment, feel him. He loves you very much."

They looked at me me stunned. "What?" I asked them, a bit nervous now.

Then they broke out into grins. "Well it's official." Donnie said and winked. "Welcome to the family."

I looked at them, totally confused now. "I don't understand."

Leo took my hands in his. "His spirit never really left. On rare occasions, very rare, he makes his presence known."

"And when he does it's usually very important to him." Raph added. "For you to feel him means that he has fully accepted you as one of us."

"But he doesn't even know me." I said.

"Yes, as a matter of fact he does." Leo said quietly. I looked at him. "I meditated in here the first night we got back and he was with me that night. I shared my memories of you with him."

"All of them?" I asked blushing. I really didn't think some of those memories he would have liked.

He laughed. "Not those." The others chuckled.

I knew I should have been freaked out about the thought of a wandering spirit, but oddly I wasn't. The one thing you learn real quick with them is to expect the unexpected. But hey it sure was fun being with them.

I really didn't want to leave yet, but I had work to do at home. Staying here all day wouldn't pay the bills. "Guys I have to get back. I do have work I need to do."

"Sure thing." Mikey said "You can come visit anytime you want now."

I looked at Donnie. "I think finding a way to hide the portal might be a good idea. It would be hard to explain if someone sees it who isn't supposed to."

He nodded. "I was thinking the same thing myself. I'll work on it and let you know what I come up with." There was an alarm going off in his lab and he went to go check. The rest of us followed. Donnie was looking over his moniters. "Leo we got trouble. Foot clan trouble."

"Where?"

"Upper east side."

"Gear up." He told the others. "Donnie get the van ready. Mikey call April and see what she knows." I looked on, now feeling a bit scared. This I never had to experience for myself. I'm not saying I didn't know that they kick Foot butt all over New York, just that with their time with me they never really had a chance to do what they usually do. Now that they were home I had to deal with the fact that they place themselves in danger on a regular basis. Seeing it on TV and movies and experiencing it in real life were two different things. This was real, not make believe. Leo turned to me and caught my look. He didn't even try to tell me not to worry, he knew I would anyway. "As soon as we get back I'll let you know, ok?"

"Be careful."

He gave me a quick hug. "I will." Then he was out the door after his brothers.

I sighed and made my way through the portal. I buried myself in my work and pushed all thought of them being out away from my mind. I managed to meet all the deadlines I had for that day a few hours later and shut the computer down. Rubbing my eyes I stood up and stretched. I had more work than usual today and I was glad to be done. I frowned as I looked at the clock. It had been over five hours now and still nothing. I tried not to let it worry me. I had no idea how long they stayed out in situations like this. I decided to read for awhile so I wouldn't brood on it. I would have to get used to this but I accepted it. It was part of who they are. I still couldn't help that feeling start to creep in as the minutes ticked by.

Finally the back door opened and Leo walked in. He had a bandage on his arm. "Are you alright?" I asked him getting up.

"I'm fine. I've had worse."

"The guys?"

"A few scratches and bruises but ok." We sat down on the couch and I snuggled up next to him.

I had been debating this all day with myself. If I was going to be with him I needed to know what he was up against. I would drive myself nuts with worry if I didn't. "Leo, what exactly is going on over there right now. I need to know."

He sighed. "Well, we got the Foot clan to worry about. They are still our main concern. Then you have the occasional Baxter Stockman, Bishop" I shuddered at that name. Bishop was a monster. "and Sachs industries to mention a few."

"Busy life." I said. then I got quiet, lost in thought.

"What's wrong?"

"I wouldn't say 'wrong' Leo. I just have to adjust my thinking a bit is all. I never really had to face this before."

"Does it bother you?"

"Yes and no. I'm not going to lie, I will worry but I also understand it's what you guys do."

He looked at me. "Can you accept that?"

"Yes, I can and will. I'm not going to ask you to stop doing what you do just so I won't worry. It wouldn't be right. I just wanted to know what you are facing right now is all. There are some differences in what I've seen and what you actually go though. I need to adjust my thinking to that."

"You are one amazing woman, you know that? Anyone else would run screaming for the hills."

"Only if they didn't know you like I, and a lot of others in my world, do. We here fully understand it's what you do on a regular basis."

Mikey came in the door. "Done with your work?" He asked me.

"For today."

"Cool. I was thinking."

"Uh oh." Leo muttered. I elbowed him.

"About what Mikey?"

"You guys want to eat at our place tonight? We kinda dented your fridge supplies while we were here. I figured I could make it up to you."

"Mikey I replaced all that weeks ago." I laughed.

"So? I still want to make it up to you."

"Alright, we will come over for dinner."

His grin was like the sun coming up. "I'll go get it started!" He practically ran back out the door.

Smiling I shook my head. "He's a nut."

"You're just now noticing that?"

"Be nice."

Leo laughed, then leaned over and kissed my cheek. "I've got a few things I need to take care of and I need to talk to Donnie. Come on over when you are ready."

"We will."

He got up and left the room.

Shortly after that the kids came home, no homework today apparently. So I got them out of their school clothes and we went to go visit the guys. Leo and Donnie were talking when we arrived. "Donnie!" Chimed two little voices. I smiled as I remembered they didn't get to see him this morning.

"Hey guys!" He smiled at them as they gave him a hug. "Why don't you go out that door and make a left. Mikey is over there in the kitchen. I'll come talk to you in a little bit ok?"

"Okey-dokey" Amy replied. and they left the room.

Leo picked up the conversation where it had been interrupted. "You're sure Donnie?"

"Everything seems to be pointing that way."

"Any idea on who it might be?"

"I could make a few guesses, not enough information to know for sure."

Leo sighed. "Great. See if you can figure it out." Leo's eyes narrowed. "If they do have a new Shredder I want to know everything about him."

Donnie nodded. "I'll see what I can scrape up."

Ooooh boy. I think I walked into the wrong conversation. I felt my heart drop. That was a name not to be taken lightly, and I knew it. Things were about to get interesting. "Someone want to fill me in?" I asked them.

Donnie sighed. "The Foot has been pretty much nothing more than a gang the last few years. We took out Shredder and they pretty much resorted to petty crime. Their activities lately have been more, shall we say, like their old selves."

"Not to mention some of them dropped a few hints today." Leo added.

Donnie nodded. "It just makes sense that there is someone pulling the strings again. And with the Foot that someone is usually Shredder. Or a Shredder I should say."

"Pass this information on to April. Tell her not to go snooping but if she hears anything to let us know." Leo told his brother.

"I will when she gets off of work."

"Alright."

"MIKEY!" Came Raph's shout from the other room. "I'm going to hurt you!"

"Now what?" Leo sighed. We went to go investigate.

We walked out of the lab just as Mikey flew past us with Raph right behind. Was that a sai in Mikey's hand? And why in the hell was there a chicken impaled on it?

Leo just dropped his head in his hand. Donnie just turned back towards his lab. "I'm calling out for pizza."

"Might not be a bad idea." I agreed as we watched Raph tackle Mikey, and the chicken went flying across the room. "I don't think supper is going to be done for awhile..."


	10. Chapter 10

The next few days went by for the most part uneventful. Mikey insisted we hang out in the lair that weekend. So Friday evening we trooped through the portal with blankets and sheets for the kids. That left me with a free closet since I figured that if this was going to be a regular thing those items could just stay here. That had given me an idea.

We came stumbling through the portal and Donnie happened to catch me as I tripped over a blanket corner that had slipped down. "You would think you guys were moving in." He laughed.

"You would think." I sighed. "They wanted all this crap."

"C'mon. I'll help you. Give me some of that." He took some of my load, and now I could at least see where I was going. We began walking to where Mikey had set up some air mattresses in the living area. "Donnie, do you have room to store this stuff here somewhere?"

"Actually yes. Why?"

"If you could do that, then that leaves me with an empty closet. We could rip the shelves out, expand it and put a wider door on it."

"And shove the portal in there?"

"Exactly."

"I'll go look at it first thing in the morning and see."

Mikey came out from the kitchen. "Hey guys."

"Hi Mikey!" Dennis said. Amy just ran and gave him a hug.

Mikey walked over to me. "Here give me that. I'll help them get set up." He took my load from me. The he and the kids spent the next few minutes setting up a sleeping area for them.

Leo and Raph came walking into the lair. They hadn't been home when I arrived. Leo told me earlier in the day that he would be gone most of the afternoon. He now had a slightly frustrated look on his face.

Donnie looked at him. "Did you find anything out?"

"Not a damn thing. April can't dig anything up either. This isn't going to be easy."

"It never is dealing with you-know-who." Donnie said. We had all decided not to say anything in front of the kids about this. I don't think a real life Shredder would help them sleep at night.

"I know. Doesn't mean I have to like it though. April is going to come by here soon. She had some work to finish up." Leo looked at me and smiled. "She wants to meet you."

"And I want to meet her." I replied. I hadn't had the chance to yet. Her being a news reporter she's been busy lately from what the guys tell me. On the same thing that had the guys on their toes right now, the Foot clan.

I didn't have to wait long, about an hour later she showed up. She was a bit shorter than me, which surprised me a little. I had always pictured her to be taller. But with me being 5'9 I guess a lot of folks we shorter than me. She smiled and took my hand in hers. "You must be Vicky. I'm April. The guys have told me a lot about you."

I smiled back. "Nothing bad I hope."

She winked. "Not yet."

"That may change." I grinned at her. She laughed.

"I think I'm going to like you." She told me. I already liked her. "Now where are your kids that I have heard so much about?"

I pointed over the the moving mountain of sheets and blankets, there was a lot of giggling coming from under it and not all of it little voices. "Over there with Mikey."

"I'll be back in a minute. I want to tell them hi."

"All right April. We will be in the kitchen." Leo told her.

April joined us a few minutes later. "I don't know who is worse, Mikey or the kids." She laughed. "They got some kind of tickle wresting match going on over there." She sat down at the table.

"Mikey." We all chimed.

April looked at Leo. "I've been able to dig something up. It's not much though."

"Oh?"

"Thee are rumors going around that the Foot owns a night club downtown."

"A nightclub? That's a first." Donnie said.

"It kind of makes sense. There are always weirdos floating around in night clubs. Makes it easy to do business if you can hide in the general weirdoness." April told him.

Leo was looking at her. Then he narrowed his eyes. "Your wanting to scope it out aren't you?"

"Guilty as charged."

"April, it's not safe for you to go in there alone. Casey and Vern are both out of town." Leo told her.

"I wasn't planning on going alone." She looked at me. "Want to see see some of New York?" Wait what? How did I get pulled into this?

"April! You can't be serious!" Raph said "She has no idea what they can do if it is a Foot hideout."

"I can't wait for them to come back. Casey will be gone for another month and you can't go in with me. I have no idea when Vern will be back from his assignment overseas. All she has to do is keep an eye on me and let you know if there is trouble."

Donnie sighed. "I don't like it, but she does have a point. We can't let her go alone and we do need to find out what's going on."

"We are going to shadow them right?" Raph asked.

"Well duh... I said I agree with her her reasoning. I never said we abandon them. They go in and we wait outside in case there is trouble."

Leo had sat quietly, taking it all in. There seemed to be an internal struggle going on inside of him. Finally he took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. "Alright April, but only if she wants to go. I'm not going to ask her to do this." Then I knew what was bothering him. April had been in these situations before and could handle herself relatively well but there were still times she got into trouble. Leo thought of her as a sister, but he stilled worried about her. There was something more between him and I however and I don't think he really wanted me out there like that. For him to give his blessing on the whole idea spoke volumes to me about what he had just fought within himself.

Now it was their turn to watch me as I struggled with my own thoughts. Could I do this? Did I even want to do this? I looked at the bigger picture. They were a part of my family now and this part faced things that could get them hurt. They also depended on one another, this was a single machine that worked to keep all safe. They had invited me into that working unit. They fully accepted me as part of the family and would allow me to play an important part. They needed information to face this newest threat and needed help getting it. And there was that little kid inside me that was clapping and jumping up and down with glee to actually get that chance to do something like this. I looked around the table at the faces watching me. "I'll do it."

Leo closed his eyes a moment and sighed. I knew his burden just got a lot more complicated. He quickly composed himself however. "We go tonight then."

I looked down at my T-shirt and sweatpants. "I'm not going like this. I need to go change. And I guess I better round up a babysitter." I got up. "I'll be back in a little bit."

"I'll go with you." Leo said. He looked at Raph and Donnie. "One of you pull Mikey away from the kids and let him know what's going on."

I walked quietly next to Leo as we made our way to my room. Why did I have the feeling I was going to get yelled at...

Finally, as I was pulling clothes out of my closet, he spoke up. "You don't have to do this."

"I know. I want to though."

"Why?"

I sighed as I laid the clothes on the bed. "Because I care about you all, I want to do my part to help." I went looking for some shoes. I had just picked up a pair of sneakers when I felt him grab my arm and pull me around to face him. Startled I dropped the shoes.

"I don't know if I can let you do this." He told me softly. "I'm not strong enough..."

"Leo, you have faced so many things with your brothers by your side. How many times has April and Casey helped you. Why am I so different?"

"I don't want to lose you, or see you get hurt."

"But it's OK for the rest of your family? Am I not a part of it?"

"Of course you are."

"Then I will help my family. Leo I know what you are feeling but please don't risk the safety of everyone by not letting me help. You can lead your brothers and friends without feelings getting in the way, don't deny me the same. I can do this. I want to do this. Leo please..."

He looked at me a moment, then pulled me into a hug. "Alright. But you will be given a phone and a tracking device. And for god's sake be careful."

"I will. Now would you mind going to get Jim? Try and sneak him out if you can. Mom don't need to know about this."

He nodded and left and I got dressed. I was doing the whole makeup/hair thing when Leo came back with my brother. I finished up and went to meet up with them. "Leo tell you what's going on?" I asked my brother.

"Yeah. Are you sure about this?"

"Positive. I would do the same if it were you. Or even Mandi and Leon."

"Just be careful, I don't want to have to explain this to Mom and Dad if something goes wrong." He looked at Leo. "Please watch over her. She's a pain in the ass sometimes but she's my sister and I love her."

"You have my word on it Jim. I have my own reasons to keep an eye on her."

"I know you do. I'm surprised your letting her do this."

"She bullied me into it."

I stuck my tongue out at them. "You ok to watch the kids for us?"

Jim nodded.

"Then I guess that's everything. Let's go." Leo said.

We made our way back to the lair and the others were ready to go. "The kids are sleeping." Mikey told me. "Come on, Jim. I'll show everything you need to know real quick in case the kids need something."

"Donnie, hook Vicky up. I'm not letting her in there without any way to track her." Leo told his brother. He looked at April. "You have yours on you right?"

"Always."

Donnie came back with a phone and a small device. I tucked the phone in my pants pocket and shoved the tracker into my bra. April laughed. "That's where I keep mine too."

"Seems like a good hiding spot." I grinned at her.

Donnie just shook his head. "Women." He mumbled.

Mikey came back. "Ready when you guys are."

"Let's go." Leo said.

We all piled into the van and I took the time to learn the phone while we made our way across town. Raph was sitting next to me showing me how it worked. By the time Donnie pulled over about two blocks away from the club I felt I could use it if I needed it and slipped it back in my pocket. April looked at me. "Ready?"

"Yeah."

We got out of the van and Leo rolled his window down. "Be careful you two."

"We will. Now scoot." April told him. Then we began walking to the club. "Nervous?" She asked me.

"A little."

"Normally I wouldn't ask you to do this. I just have a bad feeling something is going on soon. I've learned not to go into these situations alone."

"It's ok, April. I just had to convince Leo to let me do this."

"He cares about you very much. I could see that right away when they got back. He just wasn't the same."

"He didn't go nuts did he?"

"No." She laughed "There just was a sadness to him. I knew something had happened to him while he was gone, something that he missed very much. Raph told me about you two later."

"The feeling was mutual. The thought of never seeing him again brought me to tears for days."

"And you just get him back and then I drag you into this mess..."

"It's ok. Really, it is. It comes with the turf in this particular family. I knew what I was getting into."

We had arrived at the club, it was a three story building sitting on a street corner the sound of music pouring out of the doors. "This is going to be a noisy night." I sighed.

She laughed. "I brought Aspirin. Come on, let's see what we can sniff out." And we made our way into the building. The inside was pretty much like every other night club, busy and loud.

"Now what?" I asked her over the noise.

"We split up. You wait over there by the the bar, on the far side over there. There are some private rooms back there. I'll circle around and see what I can find out. I don't think we should stick together, if something goes wrong they won't know we are here for the same reason. If does go bad, I'll signal you."

I nodded and we split up. I made my way to the bar and took a seat ordering a drink. I watched as April made her way around the club for about fifteen, twenty minutes. Then a large guy came stumbling over and sat down next to me. "Hiya Sweetcheeks." Oh lord... "You new here?" I really didn't want to deal with this.

"I really don't see where that is any of your business." I told him. Still watching April.

"Oh ho! You got a mouth on you."

"Just leave me alone." I frowned. There were a few guys gathered around April.

"Why don't you come hang with me tonight. I'll take that stick outta your ass and put one somewhere else." Seriously? Why on earth would he think I would even want to do that? Drunken idiot.

"I'm taken already." This didn't look good. I think April got found out. They were herding her towards the back rooms, heading my way. No this was not good.

"Damn right you are, you're mine tonight." He grabbed my arm.

I finally looked at him and an icy calm came over me. "Get your hand off of me. Now." I met April's gaze over this buffoon's head. She mouthed the word 'Help.' Damn it.

"Or what you going to do?" He said tightening his grip. I sighed. But maybe if I timed this right... I waited until the group was closer. Then as they were about to pass us I launched my palm out and locked my wrist. I hit the moron in the nose and he fell backwards out of his stool, right into the group surrounding April. 

She used the confusion to break free as I jumped out of my stool. She grabbed my wrist and pulled me down the hallway they were trying to take her. We tried the emergency door but it wasn't opening. "Damn it." She swore.

I looked to the left. There was another way out of here. "April, stairwell." I pulled her towards the door. This time it opened and we slipped through. The only way was up. April pulled her phone out as we ran up the stairs with the sound of the men following us. I looked down, there were more of them. "Shit." I whispered. "We got company!"

April was on the phone now. "We could use a little help here!" I heard her yell into it, then hung it up and tucked it away. We burst onto the roof and looked for a split second on where to go now. We spotted the fire escape at the same time and ran for it, we didn't make it halfway before we were both tackled to the rooftop. "You bitches aren't going anywhere." said the man holding me down.

"You want bitch? I'll show you bitch." I growled at him and I brought my elbow back, nailing him in the throat. I felt him roll off of me gasping for air. I had enough time to roll over before another guy took his place. I kneed this one in the groin and he also fell over but by this time there were others holding me down as well. April was in a similar predicament, but I did notice one her her attackers had a split lip.

Suddenly there was another form standing over me. The Leo I knew was gone, but this new version didn't scare me one bit. He stood tall over me, a quiet calm confidence surrounding him. I wasn't looking at Leo my lover, I was looking at Leo the leader and fighter. I made sure I stayed down as he lashed out over me with the speed I remember from watching him train, now seeing him use that training. A kick sent one man flying and he spun quickly and brought his fist around to another knocking him senseless. A third tried to come up from behind him but I kicked his legs out from under him. "Bitch you are going to pay for that." He snarled at me.

"I don't think so." Came Leo's reply and he picked the man up and threw him into yet another. "Are you alright?" He helped me up.

"I'm fine." I looked around. Mikey was helping April up and Raph and Donnie were finishing up with the last few.

"Let's get out of here." Leo told them and we all moved swiftly to the fire escape and ran towards the van in the alley.

Once we were inside and driving away I burst into laughter. "That was fun!"

"Isn't it?" Raph grinned.

"Are you two sure you're alright?" Leo asked.

"We are fine, Leo" April told him.

"What happened?"

"I got some answers for one. But unfortunately I was also recognized. One of the draw backs of being a news reporter I guess." She looked at me. "Vicky, you can be my wing girl anytime. You guys better watch her. She's quick on her toes."

"She's not to shabby in a fight either." Raph chuckled.

"You should have seen what she did to the guy at the bar. I think she broke the his nose."

They all looked at me, even Donnie who was driving shot me a glance in the rear view mirror. I blushed a little. "He wouldn't let me go."

"But your timing was perfect." April laughed. She quickly told them what happened.

"Geez, Vic. Give you some training and we can just sit back and let you do all the work." Mikey grinned.

"Anyway," April said "from what I could gather the place is infested with Foot on the upper levels. It definitely is a hideout for them. But just that, a hideout. And there is a new leader. If it is another Shredder or not no one knows."

"Were you able to get the headquarters location?" Leo asked her.

"No."

Something crossed my mind. "April, you said they figured out who you are, right?"

She nodded. "What are the chances of them finding out where you live?" I asked.

Her eyes got wide. "Shit!"

Leo also looked concerned. "Your staying with us for awhile." He told her.

"I'm not going to argue with that." She replied.

"Guys listen," I spoke up "if they do send someone after her, wouldn't that be the perfect chance to get some more info?"

Mikey grinned again. "We ambush the ambush."

Donnie chuckled. "She is quick on her toes, isn't she?"

Leo nodded. "That she is. Alright, we go to April's. Let's go shake up some Foot and see what falls out."

I couldn't help but feel excitement at the nights events. "You know, this is kind of fun. I need to do this more often." The van was filled with laughter as we drove through the night time streets.


	11. Chapter 11

April and I were in her apartment gathering some things for her since she wouldn't stay here for awhile. We figured now was the safest time to grab her stuff while we had the guys with us, even if we couldn't see them. We made sure to make lots of noise and had lights on to let them know that there was indeed someone home if they came here looking for her. "Is it always like this?" I asked her.

"That feeling like something is about to go off?"

"Yeah. I'm all wound up right now. The waiting is killing me." My first time being used as bait...whoda thought...

I was in her bathroom grabbing her toiletries while she stuffed clothes in a bag. She had already packed her laptop. We were trying to hurry because we didn't know how much time we had. I came out of the bathroom and tossed the cosmetic bag to her. She had just put it in her bag when we heard a noise in the living room. I quickly hid behind the bedroom door. Was it the guys or was it someone else? April's sudden dive behind her bed told me real quick who it was. Someone was coming into the room. When they got even with the bedroom door frame, I raised my leg and kicked the door as hard as I could. Literally slamming the door in the man's face. I heard a cry of pain as I quickly locked the door. It wouldn't hold them back long, but long enough.

April chuckled. "You are a mean one, aren't you?"

I grinned at her, ignoring the sounds of them trying to kick the door in. A moment later those sounds were replaced by thuds and grunts, then by a soft knock on the door. "Come on out you two." We heard Donnie say. April grabbed her bag and we came out of the bedroom. There were six guys knocked out in the living room and for large turtles. I couldn't help the chuckle as I looked around.

"I'm impressed guys, you didn't break any of my stuff." April smiled.

"We didn't want you mad at us." Mikey grinned.

"Mikey, Donnie you two take them to the van." Leo said. "Raph and I will have a little talk with one of these guys. We'll clean the trash out for you too, April."

April laughed and Leo winked at her. We left the apartment as Leo and Raph picked a victim. When we got in the van April pulled out her Laptop and handed it to Donnie. "Wanna make sure they can't track my computer for me?"

"My pleasure." He said as he took it from her. As he trace proofed her computer we heard screams coming from the rooftop. I poked my head out the window and had to chuckle as I saw a form dangling in the air, held up only by Raph's strong hand. I brought my head back in the van and chuckled again.

"Let me guess, the dangle the guy over the rooftop routine?" Donnie said not even looking up.

"Yup."

"Works every time." Mikey said looking out the window himself. Then he pulled back in quickly. "Get down!" He whispered, pulling April down as Donnie and I ducked.

"What?" Donnie asked his brother.

"There are more of them. They are storming the building."

Leo... Suddenly this wasn't fun anymore. "What do we do?"

"Wait, for now." Donnie said quietly. "Leo would kill us if we left you here by yourselves."

"He'll be ok, Vicky." Mikey added. "They both will." He had a worried look on his face though as he kept watch out the window. I wasn't sure if he was trying to comfort me, or himself at that point.

There was a loud crash as something fell onto the dumpster next to us followed by Raph's shout from the rooftop. "Leo!"

"Shit!" Mikey spat and shot out of the van.

"April! You drive!" Donnie snapped as he too rushed out. I looked out and realized that the form that had hit the dumpster was Leo, and he wasn't moving. I noticed movement above us and looked up to see Raph skimming down the fire escape, the roof above him filled with Foot who were also on their way down. Mikey and Donnie were trying to get Leo off of the now badly deformed dumpster when Raph landed next to his older brother and lifted him towards them. Together they got him off of it and into the van.

"Punch it!" Raph told April and she didn't need to be told twice. She slammed on the gas as the first few Foot were hitting the ground around the van.

"What happened?" Donnie asked as he looked over Leo.

"Shredder happened." Raph hissed. "Damn it!" He punched the floor of the van.

"Knock it off, Raph." Came a weak voice from the floor. Leo!

"Don't move." Donnie told him as he scanned his brother. "No broken bones. You're going to be sore as hell later though. And it looks like you have a concussion."

"Might explain the headache..." He sat up slowly placing his hand on his head. "Make sure we're not being followed." Raph nodded and went to the back of the van to watch behind them.

I took Raph's place next to Leo. "You ok?"

"Head hurts." He said softly. "And I'm dizzy." He closed his eyes.

"Doesn't look like we are being followed, Leo" Raph said.

Leo opened his eyes and frowned at that. That thought bugged me also, there had been plenty of Foot there, why were we not being followed? "Donnie..."

"Already on it, Leo. April pull into the next ally you can find."

"Alright."

Shortly after she pulled into one and Raph and Mikey kept watch while Donnie scanned the van. I heard him playing around on the roof. "Bingo..." He jumped down.

"What?' Mikey asked.

"Tracking device." Donnie held out his hand to show us the little tracker.

"Damn it..." Leo whispered. "They set us up."

"I'm thinking so, too." Donnie said.

"And we fell for it." Raph said. "The whole thing was a waste."

"Maybe not." Donnie said quietly. He quickly did something to the device, "I shut it down."

"Why not just break it?" Mikey asked

"Because when we get back to the lair I'm going to reverse the signal so we can track the source."

"Leading us to them." Leo said.

"Two can play at this game." Donnie said. "But first I say we go home."

"Agreed." Leo said. Then he leaned his head on the van wall. "God my head hurts."

Donnie looked at him. "Don't fall asleep. Not yet. Let me get you home where I can keep an eye on you."

Leo nodded. "Let's go home."

They got back in and this time Donnie drove. When we got back Raph and Mikey steadied Leo as he walked into Donnie's lab. He was unsteady on his feet. Hell I was surprised that he was walking at all. I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see Donnie. "He'll be ok. He heals fast. Come on, my bed in the lab is big enough for both of you I think."

"Thank you, Donnie."

"No problem."

"Everything ok?" Jim asked as he walked up to us.

"Yeah, Leo just took a tumble." Donnie told him "He will be fine in a couple days."

"Go home, Jim." I told him. "Go to bed. And thank you."

"Anytime."

We walked into the lab and Jim said his goodnights and stepped through the portal. Mikey yawned. "I think I better go lay down before the kids wake up. We are supposed to be having a sleepover. That and I need to get April settled in."

"Go ahead." Donnie told him. "You get some rest too, Raph." Raph nodded and said goodnight on his way out the door.

Donnie then turned his attention to Leo who was sitting on the lab bed. The guys had already helped him get his gear off and it was laid neatly on the floor next to the lab bed. "You're sleeping in here tonight. I'll go get you some blankets."

Leo just sighed and laid down. I walked over to him. "Scoot. I'm sleeping here with you."

He smiled. "You don't have to."

"I know I don't have to. I want to. Now scoot over."

I snuggled up next to him and Donnie came in with a blanket. He looked his brother over and when he was satisfied there wasn't any major damage he covered us up, then went to his desk to play with the tracker. Leo was soon fast asleep. I on the other hand couldn't sleep, I had come so close to losing him tonight. The sight of him crashing into the dumpster like that haunted me. I just laid there staring in space.

"What's wrong?" Donnie asked me quietly. He had come over to check on Leo and had noticed I was awake.

"Honestly, Donnie, that scared me to death."

"Trust me, you're not the only one whose heart stopped. I have to say you took it well out there. If you had been screaming and freaking out it would have made it a lot harder."

"I've been trained to not freak out in the moment. Plenty of time to go into hysterics afterwards."

"Same place you learned to break noses?" He asked with a smile.

I blushed "Yeah. I had a good leader when I was in the army. There was a lot he taught me. Self defense, emotion control, stuff like that. He wanted us to learn more than just the useless crap you forget three days later they teach in basic training. I actually kind of miss him. We lost touch after he moved to another duty station. I guess I owe him more than I realized at the time."

"If he only knew what you were doing with that training now..." Donnie chuckled quietly. Then he looked at me, his inspection of Leo done. "You and Leo are a better match for each other than I had at first thought. You are so much alike. He usually falls to pieces too afterwards if something happens, but in the moment he keeps his cool. I think that mix of control and caring is what makes him a good leader. Well, one of many reasons."

"That was a fascinating conversation, but how am I supposed to sleep with you two babbling like that?" Leo opened his eyes.

Donnie grinned, still looking at me. "And there is his ability to know everything that goes on around him. That comes in handy too."

I laughed softly as Donnie went back to his desk. Leo tightened his grip on me. "Stop worrying about it." He whispered to me. "And tomorrow I'd like to hear more of your time in the military, you didn't go into much detail before. There might be something there that we can use to better your skills if you're going to insist on doing this with us."

"Are you trying to turn me into a ninja?"

"No, just better your skills. You have very good basics, I want to expand on that."

"For someone who was just complaining about being woken up, you sure are making a lot of noise." Donnie said from the desk, not even looking up.

"Buuuusteeed." I said softly.

Leo just sighed. "He's worse than a mother hen sometimes." He mumbled.

"I remember a time when I got sick. I do believe, if I remember right, you were just as bad."

He smiled. "Ok you win that one." He kissed my hair. "Now quit worrying about what happened tonight and get some sleep. I'll be fine."

I settled back down and this time I drifted off.

For once I woke up before Leo did, usually he was already awake and up by the time my morning hating eyes open. Because his arms were wrapped around me I just laid there to keep from waking him up. Donnie was still up, I could hear him muttering at his desk. Did he get any sleep last night? I took this quiet moment to look at my lover. It's not often I get the chance to see him sleep, his face face was filled with a calm peace.

Donnie came over and once more checked on his brother. He noticed I was awake. "He should be alright now and past any danger." He whispered to me. "He just needs rest." I just nodded slightly. I laid there for awhile, just taking comfort that he was here and ok. He slowly started to stir and I could tell he was starting to wake up. He groaned softly as he moved. Donnie came back to the bed, holding some pain pills and a cup of water in his hand. "He's probably really sore today. He's covered in bruises." Leo groaned softly again and his eyed opened. "Here take these." Donnie handed him the pills and Leo sat up and took them followed by the water. I got up myself. "Give them time to work. You're on bed rest today by the way." Leo nodded slightly and laid back down.

"You going to be ok for a little bit?" I asked him. He smiled and nodded again. "Good, because I really have to pee." I ran out of the lab. Leo and Donnie's chuckles following me out.


	12. Chapter 12

Leo slept most of that day. It kind of worried me but Donnie assured me it was normal for them. "If he didn't sleep then I'd be worried." He said. I just had to take his word for it. It was getting real late when I brought Donnie some supper and a cup of coffee, he hadn't come out of the lab all day and I figured he would be hungry. I quietly placed the plate and cup on his desk as he worked. He was typing on his computer and it looked like he had some kind of map pulled up. "I brought you something to eat." I told him quietly, not wanting to wake Leo. He just nodded his thanks, not looking away from the screen. "What are you working on?"

"I'm trying to pinpoint where the receiver is for that tracking device."

"Any luck?"

"I got the general area, trying to close in on it better."

Something had been bothering me most of the day. I figured now would be a good time to talk to him about it. The kids were already sleeping so I had a few minutes. "Donnie, can I ask you something?"

"Of course." He leaned back into his chair and looked at me.

"I don't know, maybe I'm imagining things, but last night seemed like a very elaborate set up."

"How so?"

"Think about it. They lure April in with 'leaked' night club info and she almost immediately gets caught. Almost like they were waiting for her."

"Go on."

"Well, then there was the ring around the ambushes last night. Then the tracking device on the van, that couldn't have gotten on it with us there. You would have noticed someone getting that close, right?"

"I'm pretty sure I or one of the others would have, yes."

"So either at the club, or at April's someone bugged the van while you were all away from it."

"I think I see where you are going with this." He said.

"Donnie someone is laying traps for you, someone who knows you very well and how you will respond."

His eyes got wide. "Shit! Why didn't I think of that!" He quickly turned to his computer and killed the trace on the signal. "If that had connected with the receiver and had they been waiting for me to do that..." He shook his head. "I think we owe you a big one."

"Well that leaves us with the question on who it is." Came a tired voice from the bed. I turned to look. Leo was trying to sit up. Donnie went over to help him. He looked so tired still.

"I can name a few right off the bat." Donnie said.

"So can I." Leo said. "But how do we find out without them expecting our every move?"

Donnie thought a minute. "By relocating. I move my trace efforts to a different area. One very far from the lair."

"But if that trace connects with the receiver won't they know you're coming?" I asked.

"It does have 'trap' written all over it." Leo said. "Either way we go it is one. We trace it here they come here. We trace it somewhere else they wait for us. And probably know that we know it's a trap."

"Well that's defining the problem, now what's the solution?" Donnie asked.

"We do something no one knows about but us. Something they can't plan for."

"And what would that be?"

"I have no idea." Leo admitted. "And we just can't hide here, sooner or later they will do something drastic to draw us out, but if we go out sooner or later we are going to get caught. Right now it's a no win situation. Our back is against the wall."

Donnie sighed. "Wouldn't it be nice we had clones?"

"Not really." Leo replied "Who says the clones would be exactly like us?"

"I was joking, Leo." Donnie laughed.

Suddenly I had the craziest idea. Months ago I wouldn't have even considered something like this. "Donnie...Do you have a working VCR?"

He looked at me. "Yes. Why?"

"Get one set up in here please. I'll be back in a little bit."

I ran through the portal and into the house. I opened the cabinet where I kept my movies. I had a large collection of old VCR movies that I had collected in my lifetime. I couldn't watch them anymore, I didn't have a working VCR, but I held onto them for sentimental reasons. I found the tape I was looking for after a few minutes of searching. I grabbed it and went back to the lair. Donnie had a VCR set up by the time I got back. I put the tape in and he hit play. We watched for a few minutes. When I showed them the clips on the computer when I first met them, what now seemed like ages ago, I had kind of skipped over these guys, they were having a hard enough time dealing with the cartoons I recall, so this one was all new to them.

"You have got to be shitting me..." Donnie finally whispered.

Leo looked just as stunned. "What in the hell?"

"Well they aren't exactly clones, but the 90's turtles can hold their own in a fight." I told them grinning. "This might be the unexpected edge you need. If you can figure out how to get to them."

Donnie looked at me. "Think about it, Donnie." I told him. "To me your current forms was at first only something I had seen in a movie, yet you are real. What if the same is true for them?" I pointed at the screen. "What if there was a way to reach them?"

Leo and Donnie looked at each other. "I can't believe I'm actually considering this..." Leo muttered.

"I can't believe I'm actually trying to figure out a way to reach them." Donnie answered.

"Remember though guys, their world is different than yours, so they will be different. You weren't exactly what I expected either when I first met you. I have no idea what to expect from them in real life." I told them.

Leo was watching the screen, lost in thought. Then looked at Donnie. "Can you think of anything else we can do?"

"Not right off hand, no."

"At least look into it then. If we get pushed against that wall they might be our only door." Leo said. He rubbed his eyes. He was still so exhausted, I could tell by looking at him. But it seemed most of the stiffness and soreness from his bruises was gone. Donnie was right, they did heal remarkably fast.

"Eat first." I told Donnie pointing at his now cold supper.

"Yes ma'am."

"Can Leo eat?"

"He should be able to now. He's not having any nausea." Donnie sat at his desk and began to eat.

"Good." I went into the kitchen and fixed another plate and brought it back. I placed it on Donnie's work tray and pushed it over to Leo. "You eat too."

"Yes ma'am." He imitated Donnie perfectly.

By the time they were done eating Leo was having trouble sitting up and Donnie eased him back down into a laying position. "How long will he be like this?" I asked Donnie as Leo was already falling asleep.

"Maybe tonight should do it. It's the side effect of the mutagen in our blood. It heals us fast but it's a shock kinda to our system. A normal person takes seven to ten days to fully recover from a concussion, not to mention all the bruising he had. He's almost fully healed, but the healing process drains us. That's the reason why he is sleeping so much." Donnie picked up the plates. "It's getting late, you should get some rest too."

"And you?"

"Don't worry. I'm not going to pull an all nighter tonight. Leo is well past any danger. He just needs sleep. Go ahead and go to bed. I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight Donnie."

"Goodnight." He left with the plates, turning the lights off as he went out.

I softly slipped into the bed next to Leo. He woke up just enough to make room and slip his arms around me. Then he was still once more, his breathing telling me he was asleep. "I love you." I softly whispered to him. He didn't reply but his arms tightened slightly around me for a moment. Tired myself I was soon asleep.

Once again I woke up before Leo. But this time he awoke shortly after I did. His eyes seemed a lot more alert and the exhaustion I had seen yesterday was gone from his face. He seemed to move easier also. "Good morning." He told me quietly.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better actually."

"Good." Came Donnie's voice from his desk. "It's time to get you on your feet then." He got up and walked over. "You ready to get up?"

Leo nodded and sat up. With Donnie standing nearby in case if he was needed, he got on his feet. It felt good to see him up and out of bed. I followed suit and got up myself. "Go ahead and stretch out." Donnie told him. "Before your muscles think you forgot about them."

Leo laughed but did as he was told, moving his body in various stretch poses. "Alright, I officially take you off of bed rest. Now get the heck out of my lab." This time I joined in with Leo's laughter.

He picked up his gear and we left the lab. The kids and Mikey were in a pile of arms, legs and blankets in the living room, still sleeping. "I guess this means I got breakfast duty today." I said.

"Looks like it." He smiled at the sight. "I'm going to go shower."

"Ok." I then went to the kitchen to start breakfast. The rest of the day passed quietly, but there was that underlying tension in the air. Leo and Donnie filled April, Raph and Mikey in on what was discussed last night. Mikey of course had to go watch my tape, pestering poor Donnie until finally it was turned on for him. But even Mikey was quieter than usual. There was something brewing and we all could feel it. It was not a good feeling.

Finally it was time for me to take the kids back home because they had school the next day. Leo was going to stay at the lair just in case something did happen. April told me she would let me know if the guys had to rush out. I decided I'd call Mandi that night and ask her if she could take the kids for a few days, just in case. I knew she would get them to school for me.

"Sure I can take them. What's going on?"

"That's just it. We don't really know. It's not a pleasant situation right now." I quickly filled her in on what happened over the weekend.

"Wow, alright. Just let the school know I'll be picking the kids up tomorrow."

"I will. Thanks Mandi. I owe you."

"Don't worry about it. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Goodnight."

"Night."

I went to bed that night with that uneasy feeling still nagging at me. Something was going to happen, and soon.


	13. Chapter 13

A couple of evenings later we were in the lab with Donnie. He thought he might have found a way to get a hold of their 90s era counterparts and he was about to test his theory. He was sitting there, rambling off to himself as he worked on his computer. I noticed that when he was nervous or under pressure he did that. He thought he had found the right... frequency I guess you could say. But he lacked a connection to the other side to make a portal. He did think however, that he could maybe get a message through. The whole thing gave me a headache honestly, Donnie was working with things that I couldn't even begin to understand. Finally he sat back and sighed. "Now, we wait." he said.

And wait we did, but not for long. And the waiting stopped for the wrong reason. One of Donnie's alarms was going off and he turned towards it to see what had set it off. "Bank heist." He said then worked a moment to pull up the cameras he needed. We watched for a few moments.

"Damn it..." Raph whispered. There was a large number of Foot in the bank and they had caught it just before it closed. They had a lobby full of hostages.

"We are out of time." Leo said.

"You know they are going to be expecting us right?"

"Do we have a choice?"

Raph sighed. "Not really."

Leo looked at April and I. "You two stay here. If this is going to go the way we think it will, it's going to be too dangerous for you."

"Alright Leo." April said.

"I mean it April, do not follow us." He had a very no nonsense look on his face. He was dead serious and we knew it.

She sighed. Apparently she had a bad habit of doing that and he just called her out on it. "Ok, ok."

Leo looked at her a moment longer then let it drop. Then he looked at me, and his eyes softened for a moment as he took in my now scared expression. He came over and took me in his arms a moment. He didn't say anything, there was nothing he could say that would make me feel better. "I love you." He said softly.

"I love you too." I replied tears forming in my eyes. I was so scared, they were walking into a trap and we all knew it.

He pulled away. "Let's go." And then they were gone.

I stood there for a moment, then wiped my eyes. Donnie had left the camera feeds up on the screen and April and I sat down in chairs in front of them. At least we could see what was happening. And for a while nothing was, besides the police showing up. And they absolutely did no good whatsoever in this situation. If anything the Foot had them ducking behind their patrol cars. "New York's finest at it's best." April muttered.

"Hey, go easy on them. You really think they can handle this? I mean come on, they are barricaded in there with more weapons than a damn special forces unit."

"I suppose you're right. I'm just frustrated." She sighed again.

"I know."

Suddenly the screen on our far right came on. It was a map. And shortly after four different colored blinking lights came on. Each color matching with each Turtle. "They turned their trackers on." April said. Then another set of lights came on, then a third. "What the hell?" April frowned.

"Multiple trackers. They are trying to make sure we can follow them. I think they are hoping that one set will remain undiscovered."

"Like we can do anything."

"But at least we will be able to find them."

We sat and watched as the lights closed in on the bank. Finally the two points met up. "Here we go." April said softly.

We turned our attention to the screen. Suddenly the screen went from normal to a green tint. I took me a moment to figure it out. "They killed the lights, Donnie must have a night vision hookup in his system somewhere."

"He never ceases to amaze me." April chuckled. Even with the night vision we couldn't really see the guys. They were just too good. We knew they were there however as Foot started to disappear. Then I saw a form drop down by the hostages and then they all got up as one and ran for the door. The Foot in their way suddenly gone. We watched as they ran out of the building. "At least they got them out." April said. "Now they need to get themselves out."

The guys started to pull back and we knew they were trying to make their escape. It seemed like they would for a moment, until that hope was dashed with the sight of one of them flying across the room, slamming into the teller's counter. "Shit." I whispered. Suddenly three larger forms gathered around it, that told me the one that went flying was Mikey. He seemed to be alright as he got up.

Once again they tried to pull back. "Come on guys...Get out of there." April whispered. Then suddenly there was a fifth form and they all blurred together for a few moments and Foot gathered around them. Then, one by one, they were flung from the fast moving blob of green. When they hit the floor they didn't get up. Now with the fighting stopped I got a good look at the form that came after them. "Is that...?" April started.

"Shredder." I whispered. "Damn it..." I watched as the guys were restrained. I felt so helpless. The blinking lights on the right side screen dropped down to one set of lights. "They found the trackers." April whispered.

"Not all of them." I watched as there were still a solid signal coming in. We watched helplessly as the nonmoving forms of the guys were gathered up and carried away from the camera's line of sight. "God damn it all to hell!" I kicked Donnie's trash can across the room then collapsed my upper body onto the desk and began to cry. April sat stunned next to me. They were caught and there wasn't a damn thing we could do about it. We had no idea how to help them at this point.

"Wow. And here I thought Raph had a temper." Came a chuckling voice from behind us.

"Keep it up, loudmouth, and I'll show you my temper." Came right after.

April and I both spun around in our chairs.

Standing there in front of us, with an open portal behind them, were four smaller versions of the Turtles. Speechless April and I stared, it had actually worked...

Their Leo walked up to us. "We got a call for help from someone who says we have a lot in common. Now would you two ladies care to explain what the shell is going on?"


	14. Chapter 14

Again I was taken aback by differences. The ones in the live action movies were obviously men in rubber suits, these guys obviously were not. They were a bit taller than the movies. Actually they kind of reminded me of the TMNT movie rather than the live action ones, but not quite that either. They were a mix of the two if I guess you could say. You couldn't help but notice in the movies a certain clumsiness about them, which stood to reason because the actors were wearing heavy suits. It was hard to capture that fluid ninja grace in those kind of suits. These guys however had none of that unintended clumsiness. They moved with the same grace as their counterparts in this world. Even if they were not as large, I was sure they were just as skilled. But I wasn't sure that would help us now.

"It's already too late." I told their Leo softly with tears in my eyes. "They have been caught."

He looked at me, he had that same calmness about him but his eyes were darker than my Leo's wondrous blue eyes. His brothers stood quietly behind him watching. "Who got caught." He asked me.

"Your counterparts in this world." April told him.

"Say what?" Came from Raph. "Did I just hear her right?"

"You heard her right." Donnie said.

"Cool guys! We got twins!" Yup Mikey will be Mikey, in any world.

"Knock it off, bone head." Raph told him. "How about you start from the beginning."

"And exactly who are you two anyway." Donnie added.

April sighed, "Well, my name is April and this is Vicky."

"April? As in April O'Neal?" Leo asked.

"Yes..." She looked a little stunned.

"I told you April, they are just another version of our guys, just from another reality. They have an April in their world also." I told her.

Donnie looked at me. "Tell me, was it your Donatello who sent that message?"

I nodded. "That explains a lot..." He said. "I thought something about that message felt...familiar."

"I'm still waiting for the 'What is going on?' explanation." Raph grumbled.

We told them everything that has been happening the last few days. Right up until the events that just happened. They quietly listened, even Mikey. I couldn't really tell them anything and I let April do most of the talking. I was having enough trouble keeping my emotions from spilling out everywhere. When they were brought up to speed on the events they stood there quietly for a moment. Then Leo looked at his brothers and had gotten three nods in return.

"We will help you. Tell me everything about your opponents in this world, and about our counterparts." Leo said.

"Do we have time for this?" April asked.

"We take the time. We need to know what we are up against before we do anything." Was the reply. It stung me how much the two Leo's were alike.

I was watching them quietly. They actually seemed more mature than the movie also. For the most part anyway. I'm sure they had that fun loving wisecracking side in there somewhere. This time I spoke up, I was the best one I guess to explain the differences. Suppressing my tears I told them of the differences of what was here and what I knew of their world.

"Are you saying you have a Robot Shredder here?" Raph asked "That's a new twist."

"Actually it's more like a robot suit." April told him. "We just don't know who is in it."

Donnie looked thoughtful. "Let me take care of that." He looked around. "You think they would mind if I borrowed some stuff?"

"I don't think they would mind too much." April said.

I looked over at the map screen. The only comfort I had was the lights moving across the screen. If they were moving then that hopefully meant they were alive. I couldn't believe the Foot would waste the effort on corpses, I had to believe that. "What's that." Came Mikey's voice from next to me. My head was getting all confused. Mikey was caught, but Mikey was here. I was getting a headache from it all.

"Their tracking signals." I replied softly.

"That makes it easier." Leo said from my other side. I was getting so confused on who was where. I rubbed my aching head. "You ok?" He asked me.

"As good as it's going to get." I replied.

"I'm ready." Donnie said.

The tracking signals had stopped moving by now. April looked over the map. "That's not to far from here."

"Can we go now?" Raph asked impatiently.

"In a moment. I think they might need some gear. I doubt the Foot let them keep their weapons." I said.

"I'll help you." Leo replied.

I lead him to the weapons wall and we started to gather some things. I still couldn't believe this was actually happening. "Thank you." I said quietly to my lover's counterpart.

"None needed. I have to admit the message was a bit of a shock to us. It sent Donnie into a frenzy."

"I can imagine." I managed a small smile.

"Sounds like they had their hands full."

"It's just that whoever is behind this knows exactly every move they might make. They really didn't stand a chance against those odds and sooner or later we knew this would happen." I picked up a pair of katanas off of the wall. "They haven't been out of the lair for a few days so the Foot pulled that heist. The guys knew that bank heist was a trap but they went anyway."

"We would have done the same thing. You think they might be expecting something like this?" He took the swords from me and slid them next to his

"I really don't know, but I doubt it. The idea actually came from me." I picked up a pair of sai next and tucked them into my belt

"Which brings me to the obvious question." He said grabbing one of Donnie's staffs and a pair of nunchuku.

"Simple, I'm not from this world either. I met them in a freak accident. In my world you guys are well known but only as comic figures, tv shows and movies. I figured if their version was real then maybe yours was too."

"Makes sense to me." Donnie said as he joined us. He took the staff from his brother and also slid it into place next to his.

"Believe it or not, it does to me as well, Donnie. You needed to do something they could not predict and we were the only solution."

I nodded. "The only ones that could actually do anything. I just hope we can help them..." I teared up again.

"Donnie, go tell the others we are about ready to leave." Leo told his brother while watching me. Donnie nodded and left. Leo waited until he left the room. "Which one is it?" He asked me straight forward, once again just like my Leo would... I didn't need him to explain I knew what he was asking. "I'm not trying to pry, but I need to know everything so I can help you. I have to take in all factors into consideration. This is a new situation for all of us."

I looked at him. "You are so much like him. It's amazing how you two are so different but so much alike."

He smiled. "I guess that answers that. We will do our best to get them back, that I give my word on. To you and to my counterpart."

I just nodded. I looked at the weapons wall again to try and get my tears under control and something caught my eye. I reached out and picked it up, it was an asp. I was actually kind of shocked to see such a non ninja item here, but was glad to find it. This I knew how to use... I snapped it out and spun it a few times to get the feel for it. Wasn't as rusty as I thought I would be... I snapped it back shut and looked at my new friend. "Let's go."

We made our way to the address April had written down, her and I walking and four shadows along the rooftops. Finally we caught sight of the building we were looking for. April and I ducked into an alley and looked it over. Suddenly those four shadows dropped to the ground around us. They too peeked around the alley corner. It seemed like a two story warehouse or storage building. Why did it always have warehouses? Couldn't bad guys find somewhere else to do their evil deeds? "Doesn't seem guarded." Leo said.

"Why would it be?" I said with sarcasm. "The ones that would have given them problems are already trapped inside." Then I looked at him. "I'm sorry, that was uncalled for."

"It's ok, I fully understand. I was expecting that from him though." He pointed a finger to Raph.

"She beat me to it." He grinned.

"Still, let's be careful. There might be cameras or something. Or guards we can't see right now." Leo said. "Let's go back up top and scope out the roof."

"Up, down, up, down. What the hell are we? Yo-yos?" Raph grumbled.

"Just come on." And Leo started up the fire escape to the building we were hiding next to. We followed him up and moved to the edge of the building before ducking down behind the ledge framing the rooftop. "I don't see any cameras." Donnie whispered.

Raph just pointed. There were two guards, one on opposite corners of the roof.

"We need to take them out. There is a ventilation shaft we can use to get in and they are in the way." Leo whispered. "Mikey, Donnie go. We will make our way over to the shaft. We meet up there again."

"On it, dude." And they slipped away.

"Come on." Leo silently made his way to a rooftop closer to the building we were trying to get into. We got as close as we could but it was still a decent jump. There was no way April and I were going to make that. "Hang onto me." Leo told me as he picked me up "Raph grab April." He then waited, his eyes watching the roof intently.

The two guards suddenly went down without a sound. Damn, they were just as good as their counterparts. I hadn't even seen them move. Leo took a running start and leapt over the ally gap, Raph following right behind. They kept running, carrying us, until we reached the vent cover where Mikey and Donnie were already waiting. Donnie looked the cover over and nodded to Raph. He slipped out a sai and carefully popped the cover loose. One by one we silently slipped into the vent, quietly making our way further into the building. After some distance we came to another cover on the vent floor. Quietly we looked out.

The room below us was a very large, open space. It was filled with boxes and crates on one side of the building, the other side was almost empty. And there, on one of those empty spaces along the wall, were the guys. They had been shackled to a reinforced section of the wall. Obviously this had been prepared for them well in advance. But what made me feel better instantly was the fact that they were all alive. Pissed off and pulling on their shackles, but alive. They were also surrounded by guards.

"Holy crap! They are huge!" Came a whisper from beside me.

"Can it, Mikey." Raph snapped quietly.

"Quiet guys." Leo muttered. "Someone is coming in."

Two individuals walked in and began working on some equipment on the far side of the room. One I knew right off of the bat was Shredder. The armor kind of gave it away. I didn't know the other man, April however did. "Stockman." She hissed under her breath.

"Let's listen a minute." Leo said quietly. "Let's see if we can figure out how much they expect."

I thought a second. "If we only had a way to let them know we we here, then maybe the guys could help us goad the info out of them."

"And how on earth do we do that without giving ourselves away?" April asked.

I remembered all of the times I could feel Leo watching me when he thought I couldn't see him. Remembering the goose bumps it always gave me, especially when we first met. Leo also had that uncanny ability to know his surroundings. "Let me try something." I whispered.

"What?"

"It's something I can't explain, but If I know Leo if I do this right he will know I'm here." I moved the others out of the way and I sat as close as I could to the vent cover. Then I stared at him, letting all the love I have for him flow into that stare. I know it sounds cheesy as hell, but it worked. Leo's gaze snapped up to the vent we were hiding in, his eyes searching. I took one of Raph's sai out of my belt and poked it through the vent and waved it back and forth a bit. His eyes widened and I drew the weapon back in. Then he looked pissed as a mother fucker. Well he did tell us to stay behind... I needed to let him know things had changed slightly. "Give me your masks." I told the turtles with me.

"What? Why?" Came Raph's stunned whisper.

"Because he thinks that April and I are here alone. He doesn't know you're here." I held out my hand. Sighing Raph took his mask off and so did the others and they gave them to me. I looked back out the vent. I was still getting glared at, yay.... I carefully slipped just enough of the mask tails down for Leo to make out the colors. He looked at them a moment, then his eyes widened in stunned realization. I pulled the masks back in and handed them over my shoulder to their owners. Now it was up to him to get us the info we needed. We sat and waited to see what would happen.

Leo started to pull on his shackles again. Harder this time. This caught Stockman's attention. "Keep trying, buffoon. You can't break it, they were made just for you. The only way you are getting out of them is if I press this button to let you go." That piece of information was noted by all eyes in the vent. I had to smile, yup Stockman was just as overconfident here as in all other incarnations.

"What do you want from us, Stockman." Leo snapped at him.

"Isn't that obvious? I want to be rid of you. But in a way where I can still use you. You are such good material to study. It's a shame you won't live through the experiments."

"You're not going to get away with this." The predictable 'make the bad guy explain his genius plan' ploy.

"And please tell me who is going to stop me? Your little human friends? Sadly, I do believe they are in no shape to help you." Leo glared at him. "Poor fool. You have no idea what your were up against do you? You were doomed to fail from the start."

"Oh? And why is that?"

Stockman laughed. "Because I used you against you."

"What?" Leo couldn't help but sound confused. Hell I was confused. What the hell was he talking about?

"Allow me to show you." He turned to Shredder. "Would you be so kind my friend?"

Shredder's hands went up to the helmet and he removed it. We all had to muffle our gasps and the guys down below were just as shocked. The head under the helmet was a mutant turtle head. What in the hell was going on...

"What the hell did you do Stockman?" Raph down below snapped at him.

"Isn't it obvious? I mixed your DNA together to create my friend here. He has every bit of intelligence that the four of you have, but in one head instead of four. What better way to counter your moves than to use your own intelligence against you?"

"Shit." I whispered softly.

"I second that." The Raph beside me muttered.

"You're going to pay for this!" Raph was getting real pissed now. He was trying to rip the shackles out of the wall. I heard the Leo and Donnie behind me have a mumbled conversation. Then Donnie scurried away.

"No I'm not. There is no one left to stop me. Now if you will excuse me I need to set up the experiments I was addressing earlier." He turned back to the control panel along with the Shredder/turtle.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to look. Leo pointed forward and we moved further along the vent, stopping at every cover to look out and see exactly where we were. Finally we were over the cover that was almost directly above the guys. Leo handed me the swords, April was holding the staff and nunchuku. Carefully Raph removed the cover and pulled it inside the vent. Then Leo held me and Raph held April. He took one look around to his brothers. "Ready?" He whispered.

Raph and Mikey nodded.

Leo turned his attention to April and I. "OK. We are going to drop you guys next to your friends then hold off the guards. Donnie will take care of their shackles. Arm them the moment they come off. Got it?" We nodded.

He took a deep breath. "Let's go." And he pushed off.

We fell and Leo landed lightly on his feet. Quickly he put me down and drew his own blades. Raph and Mikey landed right after we did. The guards were stunned a moment but quickly recovered and began to raise their weapons. But they weren't fast enough. The three smaller turtles exploded into the middle of them with ferocity.

"What the hell?" Came from four voices on the wall.

"Guys, meet your counterparts." I told them. I had their weapons ready in my hands.

"What is going on!" Stockman yelled. He and his creation moved away from the control panel towards the brawl. "What in the..." He stopped and stared in shock. "Get them!" He yelled at the turtle next to him. The mutant started towards the fight

Another form dropped to the floor behind them near the control panel. I quickly turned and the shackles released my turtles from the wall. I threw Raph his sais, which he caught, and handed Leo his swords. "Duck!" He snapped and I hit the floor. His fist lashed out over me and sent a guard flying. He helped me back up. "Stay close." He told me.

I quickly noticed a big difference in fighting styles in the two groups of turtles. Both had remarkable skills but the smaller ones were not above taunting their foes, where the larger ones just stomped on them.

"That the best you got?" Came from little Mikey. "Come on man, you move slower that my grandma."

"You don't know your grandma." little Raph replied.

"No, but I know she was a turtle! That means he's slow. Oh are you still trying?" He hit the guard in the face and he fell to the ground, he didn't get back up. "See told you you're slow!" He chirped.

"Man these guys are cool." The other Mikey grinned.

"Oh brother." Came from the other Raph.

"Missed me." came from little Donnie as he ducked a swing. He then swerved to the side avoiding another one. "Missed me again. My turn!" And he cracked his staff on the guy's head. "Hey Leo! We should go portal hopping more often!" He swung his staff around behind him and took out another guard.

"I'm glad you're having fun. I love taking you guys on these little outings." Was the reply as he kicked away a guard.

"Do they ever shut up?" My Leo asked me with amusement in his voice.

"Not really." I grinned.

There was a guard coming up behind Leo and I whipped the asp out and smacked him on the elbow with it. He cried out and grabbed his arm in pain. Then Leo spun around and knocked him out. "It's a little distracting when they do that."

"Tell me about it." Raph grumbled from next to me.

"Oh I dunno," Mikey said "I think it's kinda funny."

"You would." Donnie said.

I looked around real quick. April was with Donnie and Mikey, they had her between them to cover her, just like Raph and Leo were doing with me. The smaller ones were working their way towards us.

Then the Turtle moved in behind them. "Look out!" I yelled to them and they scattered. He did however manage to clip little Raph and he came flying towards us.

Raph leapt up into the air and caught his smaller counterpart. "Man that guy can hit." Came the mumble from the smaller turtle as he was put down

"Tell me about it." Replied the larger one.

"I thought I just did."

Raph couldn't help the grin.

"We need to get him out of that suit!" Leo said from next to me as the smaller turtles joined up with us

His counterpart had heard him. "We need to get our Donnie close to him." He kicked out at a guard.

Leo looked at him quickly then nodded. "Donnie!" Two heads turned his way. He made eye contact with his brother. "Slingshot!" The larger Donnie nodded then quickly turned to his counterpart to explain.

"Rush him!" Leo told the rest of them. "Keep him busy."

Together they went after the armored turtle. They traded blows with the mutant and he matched them all blow for blow. It was amazing to watch them working together. It was like they had been doing this forever. They complimented each other's movements, the smaller ones ducking underneath openings the larger ones made to get hits in. Finally the two Leos were able to pin one arm and the Raphs were able to pin the other one in the same way. The Mikeys moved as one behind him and each wrapped their weapons around one arm and helped hold him. They wouldn't be able to hold him long however. 

"Now!" Leo snapped and little Donnie came flying in, flipping over the head and slamming something into the back of the armor. 

"Turn him loose!" He yelled as he landed on the floor behind the mutant. They all released their hold as there were sparks flying and streaks of electricity coursed through the armor in blue bands. The smell of burnt flesh started to fill the air as the assault continued. Finally with a loud fizz the body collapsed to the floor. It was now deathly quiet in the room, everyone who could still walk had fled. Including Stockman. Donnie went over to check the now burnt creature. "He's not going to bother us anymore." He said as he got up. 

"Let's get out of here." Both Leos said at the same time. Then they looked at each other and started to laugh. That was however cut short as an alarm stated to blare. "Self destruct program started. One minute until detonation." Came over a speaker system.

"Oh come on!" Little Raph said. "You have got to be kidding me!"

"Move!" Leo snapped and grabbed my arm, swinging me up into his arms as he ran. Donnie had April in the same hold. We headed for the far end of the warehouse, but Leo didn't even go for the door there, more than likely it was locked. Instead he started to jump from crate to crate towards the windows lining the top of the wall. Raph passed him up and broke through the glass first, using his shell, as he launched through. Leo went for the hole he just made and went through it, Donnie right behind. The others just made their own holes. They all hit the ground running but we still got hit by the shock wave as the explosion ripped through the building. Leo held me close and rolled in the air so his shell was on the bottom and we hit hard. Then he quickly turned over, pinning me under him, shielding me with his body until all the debris settled down.

"You alright?" He asked me.

"I'm fine." I replied as we got up.

"Everyone ok?" He then asked the others. They all nodded. 

"I don't know about you guys, but I really want to go home." Mikey said

"Sounds like a plan to me." Leo said and lead the way back to the lair.


	15. Chapter 15

April and I were walking along the dark streets heading back to the lair. It was getting late but we weren't to worried, there were eight silent shadows gliding the rooftops above us. There was no way we could keep up with them up there and we figured they had been through enough tonight to carry us the whole way back. Walking was just fine for both of us tonight.

"I'm thinking about moving." April told me as we walked.

"Might not be a bad idea, might want to use an alias or something though just in case something like this happens on a regular basis."

"Lord I hope not." She sighed. "I hate moving. Especially living in the city."

"I bet." I laughed.

We turned into an ally that lead us to the next street we needed. Not too far now from the tunnel that would lead us to the lair. We chatted as we walked so it wasn't until we were about halfway in when we noticed that we had screwed up, bad. We had walked right into a large scale burglary in progress. We tried to back away but found that they had already cut us off. Shit...there were a lot of them.

"Well, well, well. We meet again, don't we bitch?" Why do they always have to call us bitch? Was that the only word in their vocabulary? And didn't I know that voice?

"Oh, no..." I muttered as he came into view. It was the guy from the club. His nose was taped up and both of his eyes had blue rings around them. I couldn't help but laugh, he looked like a raccoon. That might not have been the wisest choice under these conditions though. 

"Oh, you think it's funny that you broke my nose?"

"Hey...John you said a guy punched you in the face." One of his buddies said.

His face got red. "Shut up, Sam!" And I laughed again. What the hell was wrong with me? Was I trying to piss him off more?

By now they had us backed against a wall. "You're going to pay for that..." He told me.

"Well maybe if you would keep your hands to yourself it wouldn't have happened, you moron." April nudged me, I think she really wanted me to shut up already.

"Still have that mouth I see. I think it's time I did something about that." He reached out an arm to grab me and quickly I snapped the asp out and brought it down on his wrist. I heard a cracking noise and he pulled his arm back in pain, screaming.

"I told you before, keep your hands off of me." I snapped at him.

"You are so dead." He growled pulling a knife out with his good arm.

A large form dropped down from above us, landing quietly behind my now would be attacker. "I don't think so." Came Leo's deathly quiet calm voice as seven more shadows hit the ground behind him.

John turned around to swing his knife at the new, unfamiliar to him, voice. Leo's arm however caught it in a block, stopping the swing. Then he chuckled. "Damn, she did bust your nose up pretty good, didn't she?" Then he hit him in the jaw and John slammed into the wall then slid down to the ground. Leo then looked around, the others had made quick work of the bumbling burglars.

"You think you can make it the rest of the way without getting into any more trouble?" He asked turning back to April and I, amusement in his voice.

"No promises." I smiled at him.

He just laughed and launched himself back up to the rooftop.

"Lord, you are just as bad as they are." April grinned at me as we once again made our way down the alley.

"I know. Maybe that's why I love them so much." I grinned back.

"Yeah, they are lovable." Came her reply and we shared a laugh.

Finally we made it to the lair with no further incidents. We gathered in the lab, it was time for our new friends to go home. "Thank you." Leo reached out his hand and placed it on his counterpart's shoulder. "We owe you a lot. If you ever need anything, just ask."

"I'm glad we could help." He replied, then smiled. "It was actually kind of fun."

Raph chuckled. "You guys fight pretty good, for a bunch of short guys."

"This from the jolly green giant over there..." little Raph muttered. Then grinned. "If you ever run out of heads to bust, let me know."

"I sure will." Raph grinned back.

Donnie had sat down in his chair. "I just wish we had been able to get into his computer, I would have liked to know more." He sighed.

"I figured you would." Little Donnie winked, then tossed his larger counterpart something. "I raided the computer for you."

"How delightful!" He smiled.

Both Leo's looked around. "Where's Mikey?" They said together and I had to laugh.

Little Mikey came storming in. "Guys can we stay? He's got some awesome video games!" Mikey came in behind him.

"No." Little Leo said. "I think we stayed long enough. Besides, you have enough video games."

"But his are better!"

"No, Mikey."

"Oh maaan." Both Mikeys said.

"Come on, dip shit." Little Raph grabbed his brother by the mask tails and pulled him toward the portal, little Donnie followed. He looked over his shoulder to Donnie. "Keep in touch."

"I will." Donnie replied then Little Donnie stepped through, following his brothers.

I caught little Leo's arm as he was about to step through. I quickly gave him a hug. "Thank you so much."

"You very welcome." He looked at Leo. "You have something very special here, it gives me hope for us. Maybe one day..." He sighed. "Take care of her."

"I will, my friend."

He stepped through the portal without another word and it closed behind him.

"Well that was interesting." Donnie said.

"Yeah, but really cool!"

"Yeah, it was, Mikey." Raph smiled.

Leo looked at April and I. "Didn't I tell you two to stay put?"

"You really didn't expect us to, did you?" April replied.

"Yes, actually I did."

"Well, tough turtle wax."

"Tough turtle wax? Really? That's the best you could come up with?" I muttered to her.

"Hey, I'm tired." She grinned.

Leo rubbed his face. He looked tired himself. "What am I going to do with you two?" He sighed.

"You're going to accept the fact that we will always find a way to help you, that's what." I told him. "You might as well get used to the idea. We are not just going to sit on the sidelines when you need help. Deal with it."

"Ooooh snap..." Mikey muttered.

Leo looked at us a moment. Then he actually laughed. "Alright, you win." He pulled us into a hug. "Thank you."

"No problem, big guy." April said as he released the hug. She looked over to the screen where the tracker signals were still blinking away. "I think you can turn those off now." She said. "You're going to waste the batteries on them."

Donnie sighed. "No, actually we can't. Not for a day or so anyway."

"Why on earth not?" I asked him.

"Well there was only really one place we could hide them where we were sure they wouldn't be found."

It took a moment to sink in. "You swallowed them?"

"Leo made us." Mikey said. "He threatened to shove mine down my throat for me."

April was trying real hard not to laugh, and was failing. "Well at least we will know where you guys will be for the next day or two." I said. Then shook my head.

Leo shrugged. "Hey, it worked. They didn't find them."

"You better hope it don't hurt coming out." Mikey said.

"I can't believe I'm having this conversation." I mumbled. "I'm going to take a shower, then I'm going to bed. You guys can discuss the proper tracker exit procedure without me." I turned and left the lab, their laughter following me. I decided to use theirs instead of mine. It was closer and I was to tired to walk to mine.

I really needed that shower, I was covered in dust, dirt, cobwebs and who knows what else. I reached in and turned the water on to let it warm up while I got undressed. It wasn't until I was in the shower that I remembered forgot to adjust the shower head. Right now it was spraying water to high. "Damn it Raph, why do you have to be so friggin tall?" I griped as I tried to reach the shower head. It was set higher up on the wall than normal, well duh big turtles remember?, so I had to resort to trying to hop up and reach it so I could adjust it. Not the best thing to be doing in a shower but at that point I didn't care. I refused to let that damn shower head beat me, I would get it adjusted. Yeah, childish I know, but I get that way sometimes. I was about to try and smack it down with the shampoo bottle when a green hand reached out from behind me and lowered the shower head for me. "Forgot to adjust it again?" Leo said from behind me.

"No, I'm hopping in here like a naked Easter Bunny for the fun of it." Yeah, I know that wasn't very nice. I was dirty and tired and I just wanted to go to bed honestly. I can get a bit crabby when I'm tired. I was also still a bit wound up from earlier.

He didn't take offense, he knows my moods by now and he could read me like a book. He took one glance at me and leaned me back onto his chest, his arms wrapped around my waist. I relaxed in his grip as the warm water flowed over me. It was such a soothing feeling leaning on him and having the warmth of the water flow over me.

I was actually starting to drift off into a doze when I felt him shift slightly and move an arm. Then I felt him pour something in my wet hair and a moment later his hand started to work the shampoo in. It was a bit tricky with my long hair and him only using one arm but he managed. He rinsed my hair out and then did the same thing with the conditioner.

It always caught me off guard on how gentle he can be for such a large being. Looking at his size you wouldn't come to that conclusion right away. He reminded me again by softly beginning to wash me, again with one arm. He took his time, making sure he got everyplace he could. Now I know what you are thinking, hanky panky in the shower, but that wasn't the case, not this time anyway. He was like this sometimes, showing me how much he cared without it having to be sexual. I told you, he could read my mood and he knew I was tired and a bit tense. He did what he could to just get me to relax.

Once he finished he gently turned me around and leaned me on his chest again. He then washed my back, again with only one arm because he had the other wrapped around me. He let the water rinse the soap away and then began to softly massage my back. I sighed as his gentle hand worked away the stress of the night. Again I felt myself dozing off in his arms, the warm water and his soft touch trying to pull me to sleep.

By the time he turned the water off I was more than ready for bed. I was so drowsy I could barely stand on my own honestly. He helped me dry off and wrapped my robe, the pretty blue one I had bought just for here, around me. Then he picked me up, and no I didn't gripe about it this time, then carried me to his room. As I sat on his bed I looked in distaste at the brush and comb on the night stand. He caught my look. "What's wrong?"

"I really don't feel like dealing with my hair. You made me to sleepy for it."

He laughed softly then picked up the comb and did it for me. "There, is that better?" I yawned and nodded. I picked up a couple of hair ties and quickly braided my hair. Then I slipped out of the robe and let it drop to the floor. To tired to even put on a nightdress I just crawled into bed, to his amused chuckle. He turned the lights off and soon joined me and covered us up. Laying there in his arms in the warmth of the bed I finally let my tired body rest and fell into a deep sleep, the events of the day forgotten.


End file.
